The Snake Princess
by Hun in the Sun
Summary: Harry's third year was already interesting enough with Sirius Black out to get him. Then by accident, he comes across a fight and saves a first-year Slytherin girl. Her entry into his life is about to make his time at Hogwarts even more interesting.
1. The price of being reckless

**The Snake Princess**

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A/N: Welcome dear reader to my new story. Hope you'll enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please leave a review or PM me if there is anything you want to tell. I plan to use this story to patch up my somewhat rusty skills. I haven't written much in ten years, so it'll be some time before I'm in top shape again, so in beforehand sorry for any mistakes.

My second reason for writing this story is to make an attempt to stir things up in this fandom. There are some hard-wired fannon points that need a good shaking so people come up with new imaginative ideas instead of always redoing the old ones.

All that's left is the usual disclaimer. I don't own any part, piece, chunk or whatever of the Harry Potter universe all of that belongs to J. K. Rowling. This writing is just for fun and I'm not getting any monetary gain from doing this.

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**Chapter 1: The price of being reckless  
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The October was beginning with its typical cool and rainy weather at Hogwarts. Unpleasant and grey. Whenever the cold, slimy raindrops stopped falling thick fog immediately took over, reducing visibility to a zero. It was a weather that was best observed from some warm, dry place. Preferably, after brewing a mug of some hot drink. Harry wasn't that lucky. He was having one of those days. Days after which you wonder why you even got out of bed in the first place.

It began with double potions. It meant spending a lot of time with professor Snape. Then it got gradually worse from thereon. He forgot his transfiguration homework. A presentation for the entire class. The aforementioned presentation never came to be. McGonagall chewed him out. Badly. House points were lost. After that all the boy wanted to was to crawl up in his bed and sleep the rest of the day away.

To say that the plan didn't come to fruition is an understatement. Oliver Wood intercepted him. Quidditch practice! The long haul! In the cold autumn sky! At first, it was just cold and foggy. Then it started to rain. Again! The slow, but persistent kind of drizzle. The kind in which you'll get soaked. No matter what you do! The team was miserable, but the captain didn't relent. It was well past sundown when he finally called quidditch practice off.

By that time, Harry was beyond tired. No! Exhausted! He was completely done. Not in the mood to even lift a finger anymore. He wanted only three simple things. A hot meal, a hot bath, and to hit the sack. In that particular order! He was determined to achieve the simple goals he set. Nothing was going to stop him. Broom on shoulder water dripping from his soaked robes he marched into the castle. His decision was rock solid! Nothing! Absolutely nothing could let him stray from his intended goal!

As he marched across the hallways he heard a muffled shriek from one of the corridors. It sounded female. It was followed by several other voices. This time male voices. At first, Harry chalked them up as a hallucination. A creation of his mind caused by the sheer amount of fatigue. Then it came again. A female call of "protego". This time he could clearly make it out.

Several other voices followed. All of them declaring some, or another form of offensive magic. There were three distinct male voices. Harry could make out the name of a nasty stinging hex; it was followed by another one that almost sounded like an "expulso". A blast and the echo of a small explosion followed in its wake. Someone was having a fight! From the sound of things, it was a three on one fight at that. The boy wanted nothing to do with it. He just wanted to eat.

He took a few more steps towards his goal. Sweet, sweet food. Potatoes, roast, and pumpkin juice, they were all awaiting him. Fresh warm food! Just the thought was enough to make his mouth water. He took a few more steps towards the main hall. Further sounds of the fight reached his ears. He fought hard to dismiss them. It didn't work well. Curiosity and the need to help someone in trouble was not an easy opponent.

His conscience was screaming at him. His resolve was screaming back. Another call of "protego" could be heard across the halls. This time he could make out the direction from which it came from. By the sound of it, the one employing the spell was in trouble. It wasn't his business he reasoned. He just wanted to end his day. Then his mind started to wander. Three boys apparently ganged up on a single girl. It reminded Harry too much of his experience with the Dursley family. He had the ability to do something, to help out. He knew he'd hate himself in the morning if he didn't go to investigate. He fought against the feeling and took another step towards the great hall. Towards the warm meal he was anticipating so much. He could feel the guilt spreading across his body. It was not like him to let anyone down when he can offer help. He desperately fought the urge. He felt like punching something.

The boy let out a long annoyed groan. He gave in to his feelings. Someone was in need. He had to help. Driving the need to find nourishment to the back of his mind, he started to run towards the source of the disturbance. With a by now well-practised movement, he pulled out his wand going through the various offensive and defensive spells he had on hand. He soon realized it was a very short list. He mentally kicked himself for his lack of knowledge and vowed to add some tricks to the list. He also concluded that this thing called "learning" might be something he should do more often.

When he arrived at his destination Harry was surprised. It was not the usual Hogwarts squabble. It was a Slytherin on Slytherin fight. A rarity in itself. Slytherins fighting members of other houses. Sure! That was nothing new! But them fighting among themselves? No! Most snakes had no problem with getting their hands dirty. But infighting was something of a taboo to them. Usually, they even went as far to lie to get each other out of trouble. In any normal situation, he would have immediately turned around. An in-fight among the green-silver house was a good thing in his book. This situation, however, was everything but normal. There was a girl. Harry guessed first-year. She was fighting off three third-year students. How she managed to pull it off for so long was a mystery of in itself.

Even so, it was clear that she was on her last legs. Harry crept closer to the fight. He wanted to know more before her intervening. The boy was further enraged when he saw the face of one of the three attackers. Crabble! This meant that the blonde one is Malfoy. The last one was Goyle for sure. The girl was getting weaker. It was only a matter of time before her protective shield breaks. Then she would be at the mercy of the other three.

Without even thinking any more Harry opened fire. The full-body bind curse hit Crabbe square in the back. The boy stiffened and fell over like a statue. The second shot was aimed at Draco, but the boy was quick on his feet. With a flick of his wrist, he deflected the spell, which crashed into a nearby wall. The ball of magic exploded sending sparks everywhere.

The adversaries didn't spend time with pleasantries. They engaged in a duel using every little trick they had. They throwing curses at each other. The incantations bounced far away along the hallways. Spells were flying back and forth leaving scorch marks on the walls around them. The hallway was filled with brightly coloured flashes as magical attacks kept on flying back and forth. The boys went all out. The bitter rivalry between them escalated to new levels. As the fight drew on the spells were getting more and more sloppy. Finesse was slowly getting pushed into the background. The spells were getting stronger for sure by blocking them was also getting easier. The boys responded by using even more force to break through the other's shields.

Goyle decided to keep focusing on the first-year girl. He fired curse after curse trying to break her defence, to take her down. Things were got going according to plan. At all! At first, they thought she would be easy to intimidate. She wasn't. Then the boys decided to show off their strength to achieve that goal. The little girl proved to be surprisingly resilient. Much more than they had anticipated. When she was finally about to go down she received help in the form of Potter of all people turning everything pear-shaped real fast.

The Slytherin first year proved to be somewhat of a fighter too. Now that she finally had the chance to fight back she did so with enthusiasm. There was apparently only one offensive spell at her disposal, but she made good use of it. Even if her attacks were hardly more than overpowered sparks she was doing her best to make the older boy's life interesting. Some actually got through. Even as Goyle was shrugging them off she continued her barrage without any signs of backing away.

The little girl was astounded by the ambush. Hogwarts was supposed to be safe! The safest in all of wizarding England! She would have never believed that anyone would dare to threaten her on school grounds. And members of her own house to boot. It was something unheard of. The rage over this kept her going. Third-year or not, she was determined to put him down.

At the same time, Harry and Draco kept up their own duel. The air between them was overflowing with spells. They were panting, feeling the strain on their bodies as they kept up the fight. Soon it became clear that when it comes to their magical abilities they were equals. Neither liked that idea.

With a scream of anger, they lunged forward. Their fight was still mostly magical, but it started to depress into a brawl. Harry kicked Draco in the stomach. Hard. The pureblood boy immediately returned the favour with a punch that caught Harry in the jaw. The combatants stopped for a few more seconds. They measured each other up. Years of bitter rivalry and hate was burning in their eyes. The fight was not really about the girl anymore. It was about settling their score. After a few brief seconds they charged each other again. Their wands were forgotten, discarded as dead weight. The two boys were filled with fury and started to throw punches without caring about their own bodies. Bruises were forming; it was only a matter of time before blood would flow.

They only wanted a single thing. To destroy the other no matter how they achieve that goal. To cause as much bodily harm to the other as possible. At any cost.

Both launched a punch simultaneously. The attacks connected at the same time making their heads twist to the side. Their teeth were rattling from the impacts. Their vision blurred, but they didn't feel any pain. The adrenaline coursing across their body made sure of that long ago. With cries of anger they were at it again. There was no planning, not thinking. Just punch after punch. The goal to inflict pain.

A loud crack echoed across the castle, the sound bounced off the old walls spreading far away in the ancient structure. The fight came to a halt with the same swiftness as it started. The boys stared at the source like deers caught in the headlights. They had their hands raised ready to deliver the next punch. Both froze mid-swing. Goyle's last spell exploded on a wall, dissipating harmlessly. He too stared at the two professors glaring at the scene.

It was Harry's worst nightmare. McGonagall and Snape. Of all the people they were the ones to find them. The teachers looked beyond pissed. Harry took a step back. He knew he was in trouble. His original goal may have been noble and justified, but the barbaric fight it became would have disgusted many muggles. Such a fist-fight among wizards was viewed as sacrilege. Even he was aware of that.

Apparently, the only one who managed to keep the cool was the first-year. Her absence was proof of that. The only sign of her presence was a puff of smoke. Something that could be easily attributed to a botched spell. Somehow she managed to detect the teacher's imminent arrival and took her chance to slip away. It was a feat in its own.

Harry didn't fault her. He knew the teacher's opinion all too well. They always came down in students fighting in the halls like a ton of bricks, no matter what the circumstances were. It wouldn't be any different in this case. If possible, it will be worse. The peeved expressions on the adults' faces left no doubt of that. "What is the meaning of this?" bellowed the voice of Professor McGonagall. Harry glanced at the woman's lips. He knew about her habit of pressing them together whenever angry. They were paper-thin. Not a good sign.

The students remained silent. Harry was actually surprised that Draco didn't already try to sell some lie to the professors. The professors waited for the answer, but none came. McGonagall closed her eyes gathering her thoughts. When she opened them the anger radiating made the boys gasp in unison. "Never in my life would I have believed that young wizards could act like simple brutes the way you just did!" she said in a more collected tone from before.

Her words finally made Harry open up. He knew there was not much use, but if there was a chance to lessen the trouble he was in he would take it. "Professor I saw Draco bullying a first-year. I couldn't let that stand! I..." Whatever Harry wanted to say he couldn't continue. McGonagall's glare was reaching dangerous levels. Those eyes were getting hard enough to make dragons think twice about their actions.

"Mr Potter! You know well what my opinion on fighting is!" McGonagall stopped for a second trying to gather her thoughts before continuing. "Even if you were trying to protect somebody your actions were wrong!" Harry opened his mouth to protest, the witch's glare multiplied in strength. "There were several things you could have done! You chose to resort to violence! This is a school! Not a wrestling ring for you to live out your animalistic urges! This school is for the best of our society! You were lucky to be chosen to study here! Many would have sold their soul for such an opportunity! And now you lower yourself to the level of a street thug! To say that I'm disappointed in you is an understatement!" The teacher's last words were more in disappointment than anything else.

Draco snickered at McGonagal's speech. His amusement didn't last long as it brought the professor's attention to him. "Don't be so amused, Mr Malfoy! If I find out that Mr Potter's words are true you will be in even more trouble!" Her words came out harsh again shutting the Slytherin boy up.

Unlike Draco, Harry managed to keep the smirk off his face. Barely. It was a small victory, but seeing his head-of-house descend on the blonde boy was priceless. She kept up her tirade and Draco could do nothing but to take it. There was some justice in the world after all. This didn't mean he was off the hook. His best option remained to ride it all out. There was also the quiet stare of Snape. While he never really liked the bat-like potions master, the disapproving gaze he was sending his way was strong enough to put down fiendfyre. For the first time in his life, Harry actually felt shame for angering the cold potion professor of all people.

Once McGonagall finished venting Draco opened his mouth to protest. He didn't even get to the end of the first word. Snape's holler of "Silence!" made him stop dead in his tracks. "I've never seen such a disgrace to wizards between these walls. Even the thought that a Hogwarts student would lower himself to the point of taking part in a brutish fistfight… Aren't you ashamed of yourself? You are supposed to be our future elite!"

"Twenty points from Gryffindor!" declared McGonagall.

"Forty from Slytherin!" added Snape.

This time Harry couldn't manage to keep from smirking. Slytherin got worse off.

The professors exchanged a glance as if having a silent discussion before they nodded in unison. McGonagall turned to the boys. "Tomorrow is Saturday! I want all of you in the Great Hall after breakfast for your punishment."

The three boys nodded silently. The fight from before had left them. They no longer wished to continue. She was satisfied with the response. Only Crabbe remained unmoving. He was still on the floor, looking quite battered after being the unhappy recipient of many deflected curses and jinxes. With an absent-minded flick of her wrist, McGonagall released him.

"Now get out of my sight!" declared the deputy-headmistress of the school. Her voice was dripping with venom. The boys fled. Only when they got to the Great Hall did they dare to stop.

"What was all that about?" hissed Harry. "You are a stuck up git I know that for a fact! But attacking a firsty? That's low even for you!"

"It's none of your business Potter! I had my reasons!" responded Draco.

"Like what? Proving what a coward you are?"

The blonde lifted his fist. He wanted to hit Harry so much. Harry saw the internal struggle. The features of the young Malfoy told him everything. After several heavy seconds, the blonde turned away and made his way to his table in his usual grandeur manner. Harry decided not to push the matter any further. Especially, after his eyes fell on the table laden with food. All thoughts of retaliation were forgotten, as he descended on all the food. He assaulted his dinner while trying to dodge the numerous questions about his injuries.

The next morning found the combatants of the previous night in the Great Hall. They were waiting for the professors to inform them about their verdicts. Unlike they had expected, McGonagall never came it was Snape only. Like usually, he moved across the room in complete silence. His cape, flapping behind him, looking like a set of leathery wings. His expression of anger from last night toned down into a scowl.

The potions professor observed the four of them with what could be described as an owl observing a rodent that is too small to be worth the kill. Harry felt as if Snape was staring right into his soul. At first, he wanted to return the favour with a defiant gaze. He didn't last long. After a single second, he lost the will and decided to observe the tip of his shoe instead. The professor seemed to be satisfied with this outcome.

Harry was surprised Draco didn't try to get out of this predicament with some a lie. It was the other boy's standard response whenever he came into trouble. He risked a glance towards the Slytherin boy. In turn he received an annoyed stare. "I have discussed yesterday's unfortunate incident with Professor McGonagall." declared Snape with a voice devoid of all emotion. "We agreed that your actions of last night are a disgrace not only to the school but to any civilized wizard. We hope your punishment will make you value your abilities and keep you from repeating yesterday's incident." the professor stopped casting a meaningful glance at each boy. "Starting from today all of you are going to have detention for the next two months. You are also forbidden to visit Hogsmeade until further notice."

Draco wanted to object to the second part of the punishment. A glare from the professor shut him up.

"Potter you are to clean every cauldron in my potion's classroom each Saturday morning. You are not allowed to use any magic. I want them to be flawless when I come to inspect your work."

Harry's heart sank. He had seen how those cauldrons look at the end of the week. The task he'd been set will take hours upon hours to complete. Draco smirked at the news. Harry had to fight the urge to hit him.

"I wouldn't be that smug Malfoy!" continued Snape noticing the little drama unfolding in front of him. "You and your two friends will work in the kitchen for the same amount of time. You three will help out our house-elves! Your task will be to clean every dirty dish. Every goblet, plate, knife, and so on. You will be responsible for all of it! You won't use any magic either! Professor McGonagall will inspect your work. I repeat! If any of you try to use any magic at all! There will be further penalties!"

Harry didn't respond. There was not much use trying to fight against the punishment. Fighting would have just made things worse. All things considered, he got the better deal of all things. Draco on the other side looked appalled. He was not happy to be relegated to a task that was by his own standards beneath him.

Snape took the silence among the boys as acceptance. "Get to work!" he ordered before leaving. Harry didn't waste the time he headed off towards the dungeons to get the task done. In his opinion, the best he could do was to get it done and over with. The young Malfoy soon followed his example with much less enthusiasm glaring at the back of the Gryffindor's head.


	2. The Princess

**The Snake Princess**

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A/N: Hello again! Hope you had a wonderful week. I certainly did. Lots of challenges. Instructing a whole company among other things. (Over a hundred people! Yikes!) That one was quite a haul. You gotta love living with a major stage fright. Even so, it turned out quite well.

As for the little project beneath, this whole story is starting to take a life of its own. Ideas are coming one after the other. The hardest part is actually what to put off for later and what to put into a certain chapter. This one, however, is done, enjoy.

**sergio . iribas:** Thanks for the review, and sorry I can't tell to much of what I'm planning, even I don't really know where the rabbit hole will lead me. There is an overall plan but the main-line of the story is still under some fluctuation.

Oh, the usual! I don't get any monetary gain from this story. Neither do I own the Harry Potter Series. The whole deal belongs to J.K. Rowling, not me, so please do not sue me!

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**Chapter 2: The Princess**

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When Harry entered the potion repository his jaw hit the ground. At first, he thought he would be done in a few hours. Three at most. Then he saw the monumental task he had been handed. Cauldrons in hulking stacks, reaching up to the ceiling. All of them in the need of attention. Some bore thick crusts. The remains of botched potions. In many cases, there were layers upon layers making things even more interesting. Some others were hard as rock.

Harry's heart sank. This task turned out to be harder than anticipated. The amount of work in front of him was promising a lot of sweat and toil. Maybe even blood. He sighed. There was no going back now. Defending a first-year was what everyone would have done. The problem was how he had done that. Once he had thought his actions through he no longer knew if he should punch Malfoy or himself. He could have just announced his presence and the Slytherin boys would have most probably scattered in all directions of the compass.

But no he acted like some idiot and opened fire. Sure! From a point of view, his actions were that of a typical Gryffindor. He wanted to protect the weak. But that didn't mean engaging in a useless fight. A fight that ended up in an all-out wrestling match with Draco at that. That was definitively not how he planned things out. Neither did he plan to receive as many bruises as he did. His entire body was aching. Especially his right cheek. He could only hope Draco felt at least as miserable. But there was no backing out now. He did the deed, now it was time to face the consequences.

Cursing his bad luck and overprotective spirit, when it came to protecting younger females he set out to do the task. It was the best he could do. Moping around would certainly not help him. He scanned the hill of bronze in search or his first target. After dragging an especially disgusting one from the pile he took a rag, opened the fountain and went to work.

The room was soon filled with the sounds of scrubbing. While it took ages, the cauldron was starting to show the first promising signs of cleanliness. The thick layer of muck was slowly but surely giving into Harry's ministrations. The bare metal underneath was coming into view. Problem was, there were least a hundred more of its friends. He looked up at the mountain and after a sigh put the first finished one down. Then he chose the next target to inflict his care on. Cauldron after cauldron, he was getting closer to his goal. Freedom! That was that kept him working.

After about half an hour he became completely absorbed into his task. He wanted to get done and enjoy as much of his day as possible. The minutes passed with nothing more than the sounds of his hard work. It was nothing he hasn't experienced before. He got regulated to kitchen duty by the Dursleys often enough. It was the boring nature of the task that really got to him. Also that there was nobody around to talk to. Harry was at it for more than an hour and the pile of clean pots was still very small compared to the dirty ones. Only ten sparkling fresh ones and lots and lots with the desperate need of attention.

The door of the repository opened with a light creak, then closed softly. Harry didn't look up. He guessed it was Snape. The professor came to check up on his progress. Just as promised. Probably also to rub some salt into the wound while he was at it. "The sadist!" he thought with anger. The boy didn't even turn around. He kept on working.

The stains were not giving up their existence easily. The buckets of water were also starting to acquire a dirty brownish-grey colour. The water will have to be changed soon. The boy focused all his attention on his task. He was fully intending to ignore the person behind him. He would not give the bat-like professor any satisfaction by moaning or complaint. He would finish his job and walk out with his head high.

Harry was relieved to some degree. At least Snape didn't start gloating neither did the man make any sly remarks. It was somewhat uncharacteristic of the man. He was not sure if he could keep his mouth shut if the Slytherin professor would happen to speak up. The dirt on the cauldron was he was working was putting up a good fight.

The boy focused even more on his assault. Five minutes and his visitor was still there. There were still no words spoken. The boy was starting to get annoyed. He did his best to keep his cool. Sure, he wanted to give him a piece of his mind, but the last thing he wanted was to have a fight with Snape of all people. It wouldn't be the professor who'd get the shorter end of the stick. "You could at least say hello!" demanded an annoyed female voice. Harry almost dropped the cauldron in his hand.

He knew the voice. It belonged to the girl the previous night. He whirled around to look at her. Sure enough! It was her! She was wearing the signature Slytherin colours marking her as member of the silver-green house. The same pale, rosy skin, the delicate figure. Her long blonde hair fell just passed her shoulders ending in slight curls. What really made him stop were the emerald green eyes. Eyes that were very similar to his own. She was staring at him awaiting his response impatiently. "And I thought the famous Harry Potter had some decent manners!" she remarked, further startling the boy.

"Oh sorry!" he blurted out too fast for his own liking. "I thought you were someone else."

Barely did he finish his words something else came to his mind. "Hi!" he added, sounding hastier than he would have liked.

The first-year Slytherin smirked at the display. She shook her head. Her expression gradually changed to a soft smile. At the same time, her demeanour also changed from annoyed to amused. "That's better!" she responded. "Hello! I'm Astoria. Thanks for helping me out yesterday. I didn't know what to do against those three. They just came at me in the corridor."

"It was nothing," answered Harry trying to act unfazed.

"Do you need any help with that?" she asked.

"I've got this!" answered Harry trying to act like someone who had everything under control. The truth was he wasn't. He barely made a dent. By his own estimate, he was destined to slave away till dinner. Pride, however, didn't let him admit it.

"Really?" asked the girl gesturing towards the dirty cauldrons all around the two of them. "Then you won't need help with all this I guess." Her actions showed she was getting ready to leave. Harry found himself at a loss. His expression went through several phases. It started with incredulity, it turned into shock, followed by hope, and ended up in what could be best described as a desperate call for assistance.

The first-year laughed. "I take it you do need that help after all, huh?" Her tone was filled with humour. Her mouth took up a form that reminded Harry of an amused kitten. The boy was at a loss of words but found himself nodding dumbly. "Well then!" The girl declared reaching for a free cloth and some cleaning serum. "Let's get this over with!" Her words of enthusiasm gave Harry the boost he needed to pick up the pace. He turned back to his current customer with the need to inflict much-needed cleaning on it. Astoria selected a cauldron which to inflict her own care on. The two of them started to scrub their victims leaving mercy behind. They worked in silence.

The third-year was embarrassed. He wanted to continue with the conversation. He was supposed to be old enough to lead one. Then came a little girl and he was unable to utter a simple sentence. The situation felt somewhat awkward. He glanced towards her from time to time. He tried to come up with a suitable topic, but never managed to think of one.

Harry had to admit she was quite attractive for her age. He quickly noted that in a few years time there will be lost of heads turning around her. Though, right now, it was all secondary to him. His inability to think of any topic to ignite any type of conversation was more of a problem. The boy felt embarrassed. He let out a silent curse and kept raking his mind.

At the same time, the girl was trying to figure out how to clean something without using any magic. It was not something she ever learned. Most of the dirty dishes at her home were usually done by the house-elves. The only exception was when she did something out of line. In that case, the dirty dishes became her problem. It was the standard punishment. She was sure of one thing, the scrugify spell was not one she'd ever have a problem with. The dealbreaker was that using a spell was not an option. She was never sentenced to clean things the muggle way. Thus, she was failing badly. Harry set another pot on the small pile of clean ones. He had already finished four. She was still struggling with her first. He moved onto looking for the next one to deal with. When he looked at her it all became too apparent. She was trying again and again, but somehow she seemed to mess up the simple task of cleaning a bronze pot. At first, her hair was neat and well kept. Her clothes were spotless. Now, barely half an hour later, her threads were dishevelled and there were several water stains on her uniform. There was a small frown on her face as she kept up her fight. The girl was annoyed but refused to back down.

Harry couldn't help but smile at her clumsy attempts. In a way her determined struggle made her look even more cute. "She is a real fighter!" he thought chuckling silently. He poured water into his next cauldron as he started to set it up for its wash. His eyes again started to wander across her form and he needed considerable willpower to return to his task.

In some form, Harry came to appreciate that the Dursley's more or less made use of him as a glorified and somewhat unwanted, housekeeping tool. Thus over the years, he had gathered quite the experience with cleaning pots and pans. The cauldrons weren't too different from those. While the results of a failed potion could be very nasty, the manual way of getting rid of the leftovers was very similar to the method of cleaning up the remains of a normal meal.

The girl, on the other hand, showed clear signs that she never really attempted to do it without magic. She was scrubbing with all her strength without achieving much. The towel she was using was not wet enough to start with. She also poured over half of the cleaning solution on a smallish stain. She didn't even let the stains soak in water to make her job easier. He couldn't help but smile. It was just like the first few times he had to do that particular chore. "You're doing it all wrong," he said stopping to work on his own cauldron. He had the time and the stains needed to soak anyway.

His answer came in the form of a scowl. The girl was apparently somewhat stubborn. He smiled at her trying to make her understand that he was only trying to help. The message didn't really get through. He stepped over to her and gently as possible took the rag from her hand.

"Here let me show you." he continued in a calm manner, hoping he didn't intrude too much "It's not all about strength. You just need to use the right combination of water and cleaner." he added soaking the old cloth. "Going at it without thinking will only tire you out." The girl nodded at his explanation. She still looked a bit annoyed at his intrusion. She also seemed to be thankful for the help. "Look the stain is too dry. Let it stand in the water a bit. It will make it easier." he explained. "Strength is good and all. But you can also do without," he said. "You don't have to drench the stains in the serum if you do it the right way."

Astoria nodded trying to commit the suggestion to memory for possible later use. When Harry returned her half cleaned project their hands accidentally brushed. She was surprised how rough his skin was compared to hers. A telltale of someone who was used to hard work. She also felt her cheeks heat up and did her best to hide the blush. "Thanks." she murmured. Her mind was screaming at her why she went all hero-worship over some tips at cleaning.

"It was nothing!" responded Harry feeling a bit shy.

She turned away from him with hoping he didn't notice the pink tint to her cheeks. "You're quite different from the average Gryffindor," she remarked.

"Really? What's the average Gryffindor like?" he asked.

"Most of you are arrogant and hot-headed. You never think things through before acting," she stated trying to sound neutral. "You are different. In that fight, you were at it like a madman. And now you are so gentle. I've never seen a Gryffindor like you before."

The answer he received had Harry thinking. He was never confronted with the negative traits of his own house so bluntly before. However, he had to admit that he had seen that trait in many of his housemates. The edges of his mouth curved up when a suitable rebuttal came to him. "You are very forward and generous for a Slytherin. Most of you are cold, calculating, even selfish."

This time it was Astoria's turn to feel self-conscious. She felt embarrassed at the honest answer. "You really think like that about us?" she asked.

"You are the first snake who didn't try to take advantage of me or insult me from the get-go," he answered truthfully.

"And you, Harry Potter, are the first lion who didn't act all high and mighty on me," she responded.

The two exchanged a glance. Silence settled between them once more. They stared into each other's eyes for a second. Then they turned away in embarrassment. The conversation came to a dead halt again. This time around they both wanted to keep the words going, but neither knew how to proceed. The silence was even more awkward after those words. They soon resumed their task. At the same time, they were busy trying to think of anything to talk about.

The pile of clean cauldrons grew. The dirty pile shrunk. The two teens kept on scrubbing. Harry wished he had a watch to check the time. They were probably at it for hours. Noon had probably passed. He was thinking about taking a break. After a short contemplation, he decided otherwise. With a strained grunt, he picked up another pot. It was not the time for it yet. He also didn't want to look lazy. Not in front of her! With a now well-practised movement, he started his ministrations on the bowl. He looked at his companion. The girl was focused on the job. She didn't look at him.

He admired the shape of her face, her eyes, her hair, once more he had to note she looked kind of cute. It was also the first time he was in the same room with a Slytherin without having to fight or having to deal with teasing. It was nice.

She let out a long sigh. "This is some hard work!"

"Thanks for helping!" responded the boy without thinking.

"It's the least I can do after the trouble you got into by helping me out."

"Why did he attack you anyway?"

The girl became quiet after hearing that question. "It's a long story," she answered in a soft voice. "I bet my sister has something to do with it. Malfoy has been trying to court her for months now. She's not having it!"

Harry didn't like the answer. "Why would he attack you if he's after your sister? Wouldn't that be counter-productive?" he asked. He was shocked that the Slytherin boy would go to such lengths to avenge a simple refusal. "I mean sure he's a self absolved narcissistic prick, all right! But even he wouldn't attack a first-year for such a petty reason"

The girl looked at him. Her eyes were in deep thought. She was contemplating how to respond. Trying to choose her words carefully. After a deep sigh, she spoke up. "I believe he's trying to get to her through me. Not that it would work! There is also some family politics somewhere in there. Either way, he has no chance to score with her!"

"How so?" asked Harry starting to get curious.

Astoria let out a laugh. "In her book, Draco stands for everything she hates in a boy. Or rather she isn't interested in a boy. In her words: Boys are for morons! I want to be courted by men!"

Harry laughed.

"As far as Daphne goes she'd rather marry a goblin!" added Astoria.

Harry's amusement grew. However, he was not satisfied with the answer. Something was missing from her explanation. "How would he achieve anything by attacking you?" he asked. "And even so… Why would he risk it? He could get kicked from school!"

Astoria didn't like the direction of the conversation. It was getting too close to territories she didn't like to dwell on. "Trust me he didn't do it for fun. He was trying to prove a point. Even if it was in a very stupid way." her words were soft, but the underlying tone had a warning not to prod more. She would have smacked herself if she knew how that very tone had intrigued the boy even more. It sounded like a mystery. And Harry was attracted to mysteries like nothing else.

"What would he prove by attacking you?" he asked.

"Long story!" she repeated. "Maybe next time I'll tell you."

"Can't you tell me now!?" asked the boy with more force than he wanted to. "Sorry!" he mumbled trying to dull the edge of his outburst.

"A hot-headed gentleman!" responded Astoria with a small chuckle. "That's a new one!" Harry blushed at the compliment. This didn't go unnoticed by the girl. She was somewhat amused by it. Then an idea came to her. She smiled at him. It was a smile of pure mischief. Like a cat. Thinking about the best way to annoy their servant. "I have an offer for you Harry. You could call it a challenge. I really don't want to talk about Draco's stupid reasons. There are many people in the castle who may have a very good idea why Draco would take a pot-shot at me. Just ask around!"

Harry was somewhat surprised by her sudden change of angle. "Can't you just leave out the part you don't want to talk about?" he asked trying to sound calm and reassuring.

Astoria smiled at this. The boy sure had a temperament, and he was the epitome of what can be described as a stubborn person. However, he seemed to care about other people's feelings. Despite, it was a question she didn't want to answer. "No." she countered. "Too much family history… Besides!" the mischievous smile on her face grew larger. "If the word goes around that you defended a girl's honour by fighting Malfoy in an old fashioned fistfight…" she let her voice fall silent leaving it to Harry to try and figure out her train of thought. She saw realization dawn on the boy's face soon slight blush appeared on his cheeks. She had to keep from laughing. Boys were so childish at times.

She decided that if she was playing this game she might as well go all in. the girl leaned closer to him with an impish smile. "I also didn't tell you about the prize I want to offer. A kiss!"

The whispered words socked Harry into complete silence. He stared at Astoria trying to gather his jaw from the floor and was failing badly. She simply went back to work on the cauldrons as if nothing happened. The smirk she couldn't keep off her face ruined it to some degree, but she managed to get the results she wanted.

At first, Harry had a problem trying to come to terms with how such a sweet and innocent girl ended up in the snake pit. Now, he had to admit that she was perfect for the Slytherin house. More so than Draco, who was often open when it came to hostilities. Her plan was the perfect response. She had nothing further to do. Not a single rule would be bent or broken. All the while it would spread the word of Draco's attack on a first-year student. The rumour alone was enough to destroy the Slytherin boy's reputation. Even among the snake attacking a first-year was frowned upon. The offer of a kiss was also an alluring prospect to him. It would be his first-ever close interaction with the fairer gender. Harry knew well that she was using him for her own goals. Even when fully understanding this fact he quickly found himself not caring. The benefits outweighed the non-existent dangers many times over.

Then he remembered one slight problem. He still had hours of scrubbing left to do. He resumed the task with more enthusiasm than he could have ever believed. He wanted to be done with the cauldrons. He was starting to get hungry and also wanted to start working on her little challenge. He wanted to find out more about this first-year girl. Having his first-ever kiss as a prize was also somewhat of a motivation.

It was already late afternoon when they got the task done. The first students were starting to show up for dinner. Harry and Astoria made their way to the Great Hall. The boy was positively starving. Still, the first-year accompanying him had the priority. Her presence somehow made him feel very self-conscious. For once he was careful of how his clothes were like. Usually, he couldn't care less about his messy hair. But today he felt annoyed by it. Every now and then he found himself trying to get his locks organised. Not that it had any use. If possible his hair was acting up more than ever before.

The two also loosened up quite a bit by the time they finished. Harry didn't understand how, but after she presented her little challenge neither of them had any trouble in keeping the conversation going. It was as if a dam suddenly broke. They laughed hard when they mutually admitted how hard they found to open up. Family, friends, school and so on. The topics kept on coming. He was somewhat surprised when she sheepishly admitted that she was a serious player in a muggle sport of all things. Actually competing in the Nationals. That opened up a smaller tirade as she started to drone on about her hobby. He had surprised himself with the way he managed to follow her words on a sport he admittedly knew nothing of.

When they got to the Great Hall it was already full with barely an open space. Apparently it was a slow day and many students decided to have dinner early. Harry glanced to the Slytherin table and found that Malfoy and his friends were absent. The three were probably still downstairs, polishing the silverware. He was filled with a sense of victory. Keeping the need to laugh under control was harder. He was done! They weren't!

"Do you see Malfoy anywhere?" he asked.

"You think he's still playing house-elf?" she countered. The two glanced at each other. They chuckled after coming to the same conclusion. "Thanks for the escort," she said with a smile. "We really should meet up at another time."

Harry nodded, giving his affirmative.

"Well don't let me keep you standing around." she declared. "See you later, my Champion! Don't forget about my challenge." her face was once more taking on an impish smile. She also made sure many people hear her declaration.

Harry gathered up his courage answering the girl's smirk with a smile of his own. "I believe I'll have that challenge done within the week, my Princess! Maybe sooner!"

"You better do," she answered, making her way to her table blushing at his nickname for her. "Making a lady wait is just so rude!" she said lifting her head in a haughty fashion.

The boy chuckled. He voiced his goodbye and made his way towards the Gryffindor table. "This little girl was really something else!" he thought with amusement. His primary goal became to find his friends among the horde of housemates. He didn't spend too much time searching. Sitting close to the end of the table he spotted Ron Weasley. Mouth open. Staring at him. Hermione was next to him trying to find a reason for the redhead's uncharacteristic behaviour. She was furiously trying to get a reaction from the boy. Despite her attempts, she wasn't having any success with the process. The Weasley was out of it. He was sitting, stunned into silence. His brain, in a catatonic state.

Harry took up residence next to them after throwing a quick "Hello!" their way. He didn't notice the small drama as it was unfolding. With his primary goal to find friendly faces complete he decided to feast on the food in front of him. At the moment it was all that mattered. He was hungry. That took priority above all else!

All the while Hermione went through various methods to kick-start Ron's mental functions. After repeated attempts to get him working again, she decided to turn to more physical methods. Apparently talking to Ron, even yelling at him, wasn't working. A loud crack echoed across the Great Hall as she slapped the stunned redhead. This seemed to work. The boy finally started to move. He blinked a few times as his mind slowly rebooted. "Why did you do that for!" he asked her, somewhat confounded.

"You were completely out of it! That's why!" she answered in a miffed tone.

The boy didn't bother to counter. He was satisfied with her response. He had more important things to settle. His best mate apparently decided to live dangerously. He had to put an end to that. Preferably immediately. "Harry!" he hissed to the boy on the opposite side of the table. "Are you out of your blimey mind?"

The green-eyed boy stopped shovelling food onto his plate and directed his gaze to him. He didn't know what to say. He'd seen the young Weasley in many situations over the past two years. But never before like this. He couldn't really describe it. The redhead was in distress. That was clear. This time, however, he was different.

Ron was usually easy going. He had his quirks of course, but who didn't. Harry observed the features of his friend trying to get an answer. Concern, sincerity, a bit of an irritation, some light jealousy. Even a hint of fear. "What?" he blurted, at the redhead.

"Are you completely off your rocker Potter?" responded Ron.

Harry was annoyed. He opened his mouth to answer, possibly start a fight, but Hermione was faster. "What's your problem Ron?" she hissed."He was just talking to a girl. So what if she's a Slytherin? The stupid house thing is just for school!"

Ron looked at her as if she just grew a second head. "You don't get it, do you?" he asked. "She's Slytherin! She, and her family, are the epitome of everything that is Slytherin! They are insanely dangerous people! If you know what's good for you, you steer clear of them!" The redhead was positively pleading with her.

Harry was left staring at the young Weasley. Hermione was starting to get annoyed. "So it is about this whole stupid house thing?" she asked starting to get angry.

"No, it's not!" responded Ron half hissing half yelling. "She is a Greengrass! Don't you two get it!" he saw that his two friends were just staring at him. He looked both in the eye one after the other then sighed.

"You really don't know about the Greengrass family?" he asked. His answer was silence. His friends were staring back at him with blank expressions. The young Weasley couldn't believe it. He fought the need to bang his head against the table. The two did not know. "Okay!" he began trying to think of a way to best convey his message. "The Greengrass…" he began, then stopped again, trying to find the right words. "They are the unspoken leaders of the magical crime world! It is said, they even have dealings with the ministry. The aurors leave them alone because they do an invaluable service by creating some form of order among criminals."

Harry stared at Ron, mouth agape. Hermione was much more reversed about the information she received. She knew that the boy had a history of overcomplicating things, but this time he was too serious to be taken lightly. She also wanted for this little conflict to be done and over with. "So let me get this straight." she started. "She…" the witch flicked her thumb at the blonde girl two tables away. "… is a yakuza princess?"

This time it was Ron's turn to stare. "She is a what?" he asked.

Harry was busy trying to digest the information. The friendly and talkative Astoria... a gangster of all things.

Hermione let out a sigh. She couldn't imagine how the wizards could be so uninformed when it came to basic facts about the muggle world. "The yakuza are family-run criminal syndicates," she explained. The girl relaxed as the light of understanding started to appear in Ron's eyes.

Harry while being silent fully understood the words that were said in front of him. No matter how he tried to fit it into his worldview, he simply couldn't picture the fragile-looking first year in one frame with a bunch of hulking, heavily tattooed, gun-slinging Mafiosi. It simply seemed impossible to him. He looked at Ron with disbelief. "You're kidding right?" he hissed.

"Do I look like it?" asked the other.

"I don't buy it!" answered Harry, screaming atop of his lung. "How the hell is she be part of criminal empire!?" he was way louder than reasonable. The Great Hall became silent. His outburst could be heard across the entire room, and by most of the school.

"It's just a small business!" came his answer in the form of Astoria's shout. Despite the girl's intention, it had the opposite effect than intended. The hall remained silent for several more seconds before the students continued their meals. Harry almost sank beneath the table in shame. As he waited for conversations across the hall to resume. He didn't want others to listen in.

"You're joking right?" he asked. His voice much lower this time

"Do I look like it?" responded Ron, his tone was serious there was not a shred of humour in it.

"If they are that dangerous why would Draco attack her?"

"You mean you are in detention because Draco attacked HER?" asked Hermione while looking at the girl. Harry only nodded.

Ron's expression was telling stories about his incredulity. "Malfoy has lost his bloody mind in that case!" he remarked. "If the Greengrass ever decide to retaliate… I sure hope they do!" He grinned at the thought.

Harry kept quiet. His mind was finally accepting the facts laid out before him. He was still not fully on board with the idea. Either way, he still found her nice to be around. Her family may be a bunch of criminals, but that didn't mean she was like that too. His stomach protested at the lack of food to digest. The boy decided that right now it was more important to deal with that particular problem. His meal once more started to disappear at an alarming speed.

Hermione was still in deep thought. "What could Draco possibly achieve by attacking a first-year student?" she asked.

Ron shrugged while he kept on devouring his meal. "Maybe he really did lose his bloody mind?" he asked between bites. "Maybe he thought it's good for a laugh? Maybe he has the rabies? Anything is possible with that git!"

"I asked her about it." countered Harry. "She said Draco wants to hook up with her older sister. I still don't get, why he would attack her. She even offered me a kiss if I managed to do it, though!" the last sentence caught Ron's attention.

"Slytherin or not! I would take that offer!" declared the redhead, earning a glare from Hermione. "So do you know where to begin?" continued the boy oblivious to the brunette's anger.

Harry hadn't thought about the problem at hand before his friend mentioned it. Asking around seemed to be a good idea at first. But asking around about a Mafiosi family? He had to make sure not to step on toes. That could get really uncomfortable really fast. Harry knew, his best bet was Astoria's older sister, Daphne. Although when he thought about it more he quickly became wary.

The girl was different. The little sister was nice and talkative. Daphne, as far he understood, the polar opposite.

She had a reputation.

She was not someone to be trifled with.

He didn't like that fact one bit.


	3. The Lady

**The Snake Princess**

* * *

AN: Finally Friday! The end of a long week! Boy am I tired! And I was stupid enough to tell my fiancé that we are going shopping on Saturday. What was I thinking? It was clear on Tuesday that this'll be a SNAFU heavy week. Too late now to go back on my word. Foxtrot!

Good to have that out of my system! Hope you enjoy the next chapter! If there are some minor errors sorry about that. I'll correct them later, but I really need to hit the hay.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything of Rowling's Harry Potter world, neither do I get any money from this, so don't sue me!

* * *

**Chapter 3: The Lady**

* * *

The day of the first Hogsmeade excursion came. Harry was not happy. With no signed permission slip going to the wizarding village was nothing more than a dream. Even if had the paper Professor McGonagall's verdict was firm. No excursion for him or Draco. There was no use crying or moaning over it.

After breakfast, Harry said goodbye to his friends. They soon spilled out the main gate to leave for the village. With nothing to do, he started to climb the stairs, though, not towards the common room. He needed a quiet place to think and the Gryffindor retreat was just about the worst place for that. Not with first and second years crawling all over it and asking question after question.

Instead, his destination was a small attic room on the top of the Staircase Tower. He discovered it only a year before. Originally, it was an abandoned storage room with no use. He decided to change that. It took some time to clean out the place, but it was worth it. He got rid of all the rubble, leftover broken furniture, the thick layer of powder-like dust covering everything and all the small critters that nestled into the place.

Once the room was up to the boy's standards he commandeered a table, a handful of chairs, a sofa, a nice, soft carpet and a couple of other things to make the place comfortable. Technically he turned the place into a second Gryffindor common room. He really liked the result. Now it was time to make good use of it.

* * *

The morning was chilly, to say the least. The Scottish autumn was showing its worst. A mix of low temperatures, fog and the occasional droplet of rain. The nasty weather made sure that most people would stay indoors where it is warm and comfortable. If the Hogsmeade day would be at any other date most students wouldn't have poked their noses out of the castle.

But here there was always the occasional oddity. People, who didn't care about the bad weather and wouldn't change their routine, no matter what. Daphne Greengrass was one of those people. She was at the end of her morning stroll and ready to head out to the village. Despite the ungodly conditions, she got up at any even more ungodly time to get ready for the day. At an hour at which most people wouldn't even phantom getting out of bed, she was already out in the cold. And she preferred it that way.

Many questioned why she would voluntarily subject herself to such torture. Astoria was the most vocal when it came to this. As far as the younger Greengrass was concerned her older sister was completely bonkers. Getting up before the crack of dawn, then taking a casual stroll in the cold as if it was the middle of May. She had to be crazy! Or a masochist at the very least! At least this was the younger sister's thought when it came to her sibling's morning routine.

Daphne couldn't care less about those opinions. To her, it was the perfect way to begin the day.

Her long golden hair could be seen from a long distance. She was proud how well she always kept it. Not many women opted to let their hair grow long as hers. Her locks flowed in lazy waves all the way to her thighs. Her robes were kept neat and spotless. Her skin was flawless, almost porcelain-like, with her cheeks sporting a healthy pinkish colour to them. Her movements; they were befitting of royalty. Those very same movements were also reminiscent of a predator. Ready to pounce!

She drew a deep breath enjoying the feeling. Every second of her morning stroll was pure bliss to her. The peace and quiet. Seeing the first rays of the sun. The silence before the hassle of the day. She loved it all!

Much to her dismay, the castle was getting closer. With it, the end of her morning routine was slowly coming to close too. It was time to become serious and knock some heads together. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small rounded box. The little mirror was one of her most prized possessions. She always kept it on herself. It was the last gift she got from her beloved father. The fondest memory she had of him. She always idolized the man, and now that he was gone she did so even more. He was strong, independent, and would not take anything from anyone. His funeral was the only time she broke down and let her weak side shine through. Not that she'd admit that to anyone. She had a reputation to keep.

She opened the mirror and observed her reflection with care. She was looking for the smallest sign a flaw. Her face? Perfect! Her hair? A bit messy, but good enough. On second thought, she noted that looking a bit more wild may be a good change of habit. Her clothes? Not even a single wrinkle! Her expression? Glare in position! Complete with a piercing blue stare, an unspoken promise of death to anybody who dares to mess with her. With a satisfied nod, she closed the mirror. The box let out a soft barely audible click. The girl carefully stashed her treasure away.

She reached the side door and grasped the handle. The girl stopped for a short second to collect herself. One more second of the relaxing bliss. She took a deep breath savouring the moment. "Ready for another ride!" she remarked pushing the handle down ready for the day.

The hallway she entered was as any other in the castle. Tall gothic interior, pillars decorated with elaborate carvings. A row of stone sentries was lined up along the walls. A somewhat crude addition in her opinion. As the girl was busy unbuttoning her cloak when she noticed something out of the ordinary. One of the armoured suits was acting strange. It was standing in the middle of the corridor. The thing was moving as if it was a real living and breathing being. It drew its weapon and approached her in a fashion that left no doubt about its intent. That was definitely not normal.

The construct brought the blade down on her with the full intent on hitting her. She barely had enough time to dodge. Soon came the second swipe. She had to duck to avoid getting decapitated. "It's intimidation tactics now eh Draco?" she asked while taking hold of her wand. The statue raised its weapon not bothering to give her an answer. "I never thought you were that desperate! Or is it because of your spineless father pressing you harder?" The statue swung at her again. She sidestepped the attack. Her lips curled up in a tiger-like smirk as she launched her counter.

* * *

Harry was sitting lazily, spread out in his armchair. He didn't care about how he looked to the outside observer. One of his legs was resting on the table. His muscles were aching from the activities of the previous day. Cleaning mountains upon mountains of cauldrons was hard work. Every move he made felt like hell on Earth. He made a mental note to thank Astoria once more for the help. Without her, he'd been probably much worse off. The girl was really something else. She was spirited, carefree and while at the same time she carried herself in a dignified manner. She was also fun to have around.

She was also nosy beyond his wildest imaginations, even managing to make him talk about the Dursleys and was appalled by what she heard. Then she said something that was still ringing in his ears. "Why do you tolerate the way they treat you?" Her voice sounded calm, but he could feel the anger just below the surface. "If they were real family they wouldn't treat you the way they do! Do they deserve your loyalty? Would your parents approve what they do to you? Would they approve that you let them treat you the way they do?"

The words still rang in the boy's ears. They made him reconsider many things. All his life Harry was only reacting. Always choosing the thing that needed to be done and he could only hope that his choices were the right ones. He never actually took hold of the reins that controlled his destiny. He came to the quick conclusion that this was not something his parents would not be proud of. They would want him to follow his own path, to find happiness.

After coming to that conclusion came the next problem. What is that path? What should he do with his life? There were things he couldn't change for years to come. Others he will be able to change in a few months. And there were a few things he could do immediately. If he really wanted to change things now was the best time for it.

He had already spent two years in Hogwarts. While those years were not exactly wasted he could have done things differently. He could have taken his studies more seriously. Put more effort into it and achieve more. He was determined to change that! Making the decision was easy. Doing so will be much harder. He was not a fan of books at all. But if he wanted to aim high. This meant hours upon hours of learning. Leaning over books. Trying to understand their secrets and commit those to memory.

Then there was the other problem. A much harder one. Astoria's little challenge. Backing out was out of the question. He really wanted to figure out why Draco did what he did. Malfoy didn't seem to be the romantic kind. Going after a girl in the manner he did was totally out of his character. On a normal day, Draco would just huff and say that a girl should be honoured to be courted by him. Then he would move in acting all insulted by the refusal.

Harry was curious by nature. He wanted to know the reason for Draco acting so out of character. It was something akin to a mystery. Harry wanted to get to the bottom of it. And there was that kiss! He felt stupid when he brought it up as a reason, but he had to admit to himself that it was an alluring prospect. One he didn't want to miss. Harry fought to keep the blush from his cheeks, but he knew well that it was a failure. He was glad that there was nobody to witness it.

As a last part, Harry didn't want to look like a quitter. Not in front of the girl. Under any other situation, he wouldn't have cared about appearances. Strangely, now of all times, he did.

When it came to solving the riddle Harry had already done a few things without much of a progress. The few people he asked had no idea. Or they didn't dare to voice it. Ron was his starting point. There was a source he could not get much out of. Except that the redhead absolutely hated the girls. Upon asking others he didn't get much more. Somehow people just didn't want to talk about this particular family.

However, his inquiries had a positive and amusing side effect, asking those people was enough to get rumours going. It didn't take long for them to reach the Slytherin house. And Draco. Bullying a first-year and getting a beat-up in the process was one hell of a stigma. Even if said first-year had backup. The boy was looking forward to some rough days.

However, for all the amusement Harry got from the situation he still wasn't closer to solving Astoria's little task. The boy again came to the conclusion that the best approach to get what he wanted to go to the source. This meant talking with the aforementioned elder sister, Daphne. She had a reputation. She was the unspoken idol of the Slytherin girls. Elegant, refined, well versed in the arts. She was tough as nails and somewhat terrifying. She was also somewhat of a heartbreaker. Boys were swarming around her like flies. Her way of taking them down was not too nice. She was downright cruel in some cases. The male population, however, didn't seem to get the message to back off. This resulted in her takedowns getting worse and worse.

If he approached her there was no doubt in his mind that people would get the wrong idea. They always did that. They would think he's trying to hook up with her. Why else would he show interest towards her all of a sudden? At least that was what many members of the gossip ring would think. Any other evidence would be discarded. People were already talking more than enough about him. He didn't want to give them even more ammunition.

This left Harry with somewhat of a conundrum. He wanted to grill her for information, but he didn't want people to think of him as another fool, another lovesick puppy after one of the school's most beautiful girls. He also didn't want her to misunderstand his intentions and rip him a new one for his troubles. If either happened he'd be looking forward to some interesting days. Having to listen to all the embarrassing and made up stories would be torture. And worst of all! Draco would do his utmost to turn the tables on him. So, no! A public meeting it will be not!

At one point in his musings, Harry begrudgingly admitted to himself that he was afraid of the girl. The superior manner. The ever-present promise of doom in her eyes. It just rubbed him the wrong way. Then there was the fact that he was not really good at interacting with the fairer end of humanity. He was downright awful, with the dual exception of Hermione and Astoria. Going there introducing himself and asking would be awkward. Too awkward! It felt as if he was asking her out for a date. Not a likely thing to happen anytime soon. Even if he had none of that in mind, it felt too similar. Just the simple thought of talking to the terrifying girl he felt strange. The mixture of an angelic body and deadly personality just didn't sit well with him. It made him nervous. Uncomfortable.

He considered asking Astoria to introduce him to her older sister. However, that idea was quickly thrown under the bus. There was no way he'd take that approach. People would think he's into Daphne. It was another dead end.

Writing a letter looked like an option. "An idea that could work." he thought. Then he thought about it a bit more. To many, it would look like a love letter. No question there! If anything went wrong people would get ideas! The rumour mill would start working! In the end, he'd be once more centre of Hogwarts gossip. The very thing he sought to avoid. Not a chance! A letter was not worth the risk! And it was back to square one. It was a nasty loop. One he went through at least a few times.

Slowly but surely a headache was on its way. He looked up at the ceiling trying to clear his mind. The wooden support beams above groaned softly. The wind outside was picking up. He slowly pulled himself from the chair and glanced around in the room. He needed to stretch his legs. He was also tired of banging his head against the same wall again and again. In the corner of his eye, he noticed something. Lying close to one of the windows there was a small shard. A piece of broken tile. How it got there Harry had no idea. What he knew that it was annoying. While he was far from a cleaning maniac, he spent a lot of time fixing the place up. He intended to keep it tidy.

He strolled over to the offending object and picked it from the ground. Indeed, it was once part of the roof. Probably a leftover from some reconstruction in the past, or of the time the room had been used as a storage space. It could have gotten stuck somewhere further up and only continued its way down later on. Either way, he didn't really care. He wanted it out of there.

Harry opened the window and without even really checking chucked the rubble into the courtyard. The shard flew high and far into the sky. He admired as the projectile started to curve back toward the ground. It was a good throw. Then he looked down.

Unlike the expected the inner courtyard was not devoid of life. While most people were inside, preparing for the Hogsmeade day, the place was not as deserted as he expected. There were people down there. Two to be precise. A boy and a girl. One of them was Daphne of all people.

The way she was yelling made it clear she was not at all happy with the boy in front of her. Another unlucky suitor Harry guessed. Slytherin he concluded from the green in the unfortunate boy's robes. The girl was ripping into the boy. She was so loud he could easily make out most of her words, despite how high he was. The girl was raving on about the boy in front of her being obnoxious. There was something about an enchanted statue in there and how she will rip him a new one if he ever tried something like that again.

All that became secondary when, much to Harry's horror, he noticed the shard's destiny. It was heading right for her. If it struck home he'd lose any chance to get any information from her. She'd also have to expect quite a bit of retaliation from the girl. That was something he could live without.

The boy wanted to yell, to warn the two of the impending danger, but things were going just too quickly. The girl noticed the approaching threat. She took a step back to avoid it. The male Slytherin, she was arguing with took this as a sign of weakness. He took a step forward in an attempt to take advantage. Harry found that boy's scalp to be particularly familiar. He guessed that he may even be able to add a name to that scalp. If he had the time to think. Right now, he had no time for that. Not even a second later the broken tile impacted on said scalp.

The victim immediately whirled around searching for the perpetrator. Harry had to cover his mouth to muffle his laughter. His victim was the most annoying person of Hogwarts. At least as Harry was considered. The boy couldn't believe his luck. "Karma must be a thing!" he thought desperately trying to keep quiet. It was only a partial success. The room around him was filled with snickers. Down below Draco Malfoy was busy searching for his assailant. He was throwing around death threats.

Harry, decided that keeping quiet is his best option. That didn't mean he didn't enjoy the situation. He also knew, if Draco ever learned that it was him behind the rock there would be trouble. He would drag him in front of Snape and put on the acting performance of the century to cause Harry as much grief as possible. Snape would, of course, gobble it all up even if they were lies. The professor would then do everything in his power put him through the meat grinder. Nope! It was better to keep quiet and laugh it out.

Downstairs, things were starting to get ugly. Upon being unable to locate assailant the blonde boy turned back to Daphne. The argument from before escalated. Insults were thrown. Seconds later the girl had enough. She pulled out her wand and hexed the boy in the face before storming off into the castle.

Meanwhile, up above the field of battle, Harry was doing his best to keep from completely succumbing to laughter. He was dangerously close to the point where he'd lose his fight. He could barely contain himself. He also came to the quick decision that this was a secret that he would take to the grave.

"You really should apologise for that Mr Potter." remarked a calm voice.

Harry froze. "So much for taking a secret to the grave." screamed his mind. His laughter died with the speed of lightning.

"You really outdid yourself. " remarked the voice a second time. "This place is a great retreat." he continued. It was a grandfatherly voice the Harry knew all too well. Not only was he busted, but he was busted by someone whom he least expected to see there.

"Professor Dumbledore, what are you doing up here?" asked Harry trying to mask his surprise and failing at it badly. The old wizard smiled at him in a friendly manner.

"Can't I take a walk around the school I run?" he asked.

Harry directed an embarrassed look at the ground in front of him. He didn't know what to say. The headmaster caught him fair and square. There was no way he was talking himself out of this one. Not that he intended to try. His respect for the aged wizard was too great.

Dumbledore stepped further into the room examining every detail of it. "You made quite a home up here," he remarked. "You should acquire a few things to help you study," he added.

The boy still didn't dare to respond.

"I'll make the arrangements for you if you want it. A relaxing corner, for reading, a desk better suited for learning and to do homework. Maybe a few candles for the atmosphere? Only if you want them of course."

The teen mumbled a quick "Thank you." he really didn't know what else to say. Inside he was happy that he may get away scot-free. By all right, he could have seriously injured someone by throwing that shard. Dumbledore could have just as well ripped him another one.

The old professor saw that this time around he won't be hearing much from his pupil. He turned to leave so he can continue his stroll. "Have a good day Harry!" he said in his usual tone as he made his way towards the door.

"Professor Dumbledore!"

The old wizard stopped and glanced back at the boy. The grandfatherly headmaster smiling softly at him. "Yes, Harry?" he asked.

"I need your advice. There is something I need to ask of someone. It's just... I don't know how to do it. Can you help me?"

The headmaster laughed. "Young wizards! Always overcomplicating things! Go there and ask!" With that said he continued on his merry way.

Harry just stared after him. "Just go and ask? If it were that easy!" he mumbled.

"It is!" came Dumbledore's answer from the stairs. The boy went pale. Those words were not meant to be heard.

He could hear amused laughter from the direction of the stairway. "Childen of today! They are so easy to startle! And overcomplicate things so simple!" commented the Headmaster in a voice of mirth.

Harry glared at the door, but all too soon accepted the advice of: "Just asking!" At least he would get over with sooner rather than later. It was certainly the best he could come up with. With that decision made he turned to an easier problem. Studying! He had nothing better to do and had a lot of free time on hand. It was for the best to get that problem sorted out. With a sigh, he picked up his copy of Intermediate Transfiguration and went to work.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl. Harry hated staying in one spot and do nothing but reading. To be true by the end of his learning marathon he was starting to get used to it. His mind was buzzing with facts and theories by the end of the long session. He felt tired and worn. But it was still better than spending the day moaning about his fate. He was also filled with a sense of accomplishment. At least he finally had an idea why Hermione enjoyed studying so much.

Now he was out in the cold. At the main gates of Hogwarts. He stuck with the Headmaster's suggestion of just asking. Sure, some people will talk, but that would be that. Besides they will forget it soon enough. It was just gossip.

It was getting late. The sun was setting on the horizon. The October frost was coming with everything it could muster. He was shivering and felt generally miserable. The thick winter robes did not make much of a difference. In his mind, there was one question: "What the hell am I doing out here?"

By all rights, he could have waited for her in the castle. But no! He wanted to be sure and get the embarrassing conversation over with. Ha was slowly starting to question his own sanity. Going through all this trouble. All because of some silly challenge! And for what? A kiss? And to satisfy his own curious nature? He had to be going crazy!

He shuddered again as another gust of wind washed across his form. He was seriously contemplating giving up his plan for the day and try at another time. Then, when he was about to call it in, the first students started to return from their outing. They were chatting happily about their little adventures. The boy steeled himself. Giving up was not something he'd been known for. Now was not the time to start doing that.

The crowd of students returning to the castle thickened. There were no signs of the blonde Slytherin. At one point he even spotted Astoria. She and her friends apparently decided to explore the school grounds. The girl waved at him with a huge smile plastered across her face. Harry had a feeling she knew well what he was doing out there, the twinkle in her eyes said enough. After a warm greeting and a toothy smile, she went on her merry way. A blushing raven-haired girl took hold of her hand dragged her on whispering into Astoria's ear in a hushed manner. The group was heading back to the school. To Harry, it was a nice change from the boring wait. He considered joining them and head to the castle himself in the search for warmth, but he had things to do.

Half an hour passed. Of course, Daphne was among the last dregs! "Why wouldn't she be?" screeched Harry's mind in annoyance. Once more he felt that familiar and somewhat irritating feeling in his gut. He hated it! Twisting and turning in an unwelcome way. Asking her out was the last thing he wanted to do. So why was it there? He gathered his thoughts and wits and went through the words he wanted to say.

To his dismay, the girl wasn't alone. She was accompanied by an entourage of three friends. Harry only knew one of them. A tanned witch called Tracey. The girls seemed to have had a great day. They were going through the various things they experienced during their stay in the wizarding village. The boy-who-lived, who faced down things far worse, was now trembling. At the prospect of talking to a teenage girl. After a few moments of indecision, he drew himself to his full height. He refused to let fear control him. It would be a waste to back out now because of some damn anxiety.

He approached the fearsome girl with determination and a lump in his throat. He could feel a kind of pressure across his body. It was as if gravity suddenly increased all of his limbs felt heavier. Time seemed to slow down. He pressed on. He will not back down! He will do it! Then he spotted a familiar-looking bushy head. Next to her was Ron waving at him with enthusiasm. Harry's previous plan went out the window. Talking to Daphne, while it was a daunting task, he could do it. Talking to her with her friends around was worse, but still bearable. Talking to Daphne, with Ron and Hermione around... No! Just, no!

He was not ready for that!

With that conclusion, Harry turned from the Greengrass girl and made his way to his friends. "Hi, Ron! Hermione! It's good to see you!" he called out while bearing the feeling that he'd just kicked himself in the rear. He quickly came to accept that today was not the day.

Maybe tomorrow.

It quickly became a habit he settled into.

During the week he made attempt after attempt to talk with the girl, but he never found her alone. Almost always she was either around friends, in class with too many people. Too much audience. Other times Harry's own friends were present making it impossible for him to approach the blonde girl. It was infuriating. Day after day went by without any success.

Even worse! The thing he wanted to avoid. For people think that he's interested in Daphne. In a romantic way. It became an open rumour. It was not something widespread, but it was there. He hated it and tried to rebuff it. Of course, people didn't believe him and his constant rebuttal became fuel to the fire.

Then came Friday evening. The chance of success was dwindling. He felt pathetic as she walked out of the last class the two of them shared. There was no way he'd bring up the courage to ask her over dinner. Not with every student in the school present.

He walked out the doors of the transfiguration classroom with his head down. Tomorrow will be the second day of his detention and he wanted to give Astoria the answer. He won't be able to unless some miracle intervened. He didn't have high hopes for that.

Harry ate his dinner slowly, without really enjoying the food. He had one very last chance. If he somehow caught Daphne before she managed to reach the Slytherin common rooms. Then he may have a chance to get the information he needed of her. He was watching the girl like a hawk, making sure then she was always in his sight. It was another sign that was misinterpreted by many. The rumour of his crush on the girl kept growing.

Once more, she was surrounded by her friends. A shield that caused him more trouble than it seemed rational. They were always in the way in some form or another. Keeping him from completing the simple task and getting the ordeal done.

Then disaster struck. Ron spoke up about Quidditch. It was one of the topics that didn't tolerate half-assed attention. The heated debate that followed made Harry completely forget about the girl. When the girl finally did cross the boy's mind he panicked. His eyes jumped towards the spot she previously took up. To his horror, the blonde witch had left. He completely missed it. His heart sank. The debate was forgotten.

Much to Ron's annoyance Harry completely blocked him and his arguments. The other boy was too busy trying to locate the elusive girl. His eyes were searching the hall desperately looking for any sign to which way she left. There were none. He could feel panic taking control of him. Harry was about to stand and go running up and down the castle in a frantic last-ditch effort when a calm feminine voice interrupted his process of thought. "Potter! I think we need to have a talk."

The calm, collected voice sent shivers across the boy. The confidence in it didn't leave any space for argument. The second thing Harry registered, were the golden locks right beside his face. They were very similar to Astoria's own hair. The same shade for sure. Harry followed the trail of the free-hanging locks. His gaze quickly located a heart-shaped face. One thing he was sure of. The reputation of the girl wasn't just. She was worse than told. Like an angry predator out for blood, like a professional killer on the hunt. One thing Harry didn't understand. How can two sisters be so similar in their looks, but at the same time be so different in personality? Astoria was like a playful kitten. Daphne... she was like an angry tiger.

Ron was also eyeing the girl with surprise and with quite a bit of curiosity. There was also a tiny hint of jealousy in his eyes once he took notice that Harry's visitor was in fact blessed with a very appealing body. That was the point where he got stuck. He didn't even notice the deadly stare the girl threw his way. The tip of her wand, however, did get his attention. "Take those eyes off my chest Weasley and stop slobbering!" she commanded. There was no doubt that she was ready to go through with her threat.

Even in his somewhat distracted state, the severity of the threat made Ron snap out of his daze. Then he also noticed that Hermione was giving him one of those stares. She was ready to rip into him without any mercy. He decided it's better to focus his attention on dinner. With some luck, the girl might decide not to voice her opinion.

Harry slowly stood up. He didn't know what Daphne wanted to talk about but there was some silver lighting in the cloud looming above him. He'd have the chance to ask the questions he'd been holding back the entire week. "Follow me Potter!" came Daphne's command. The tone made it clear that she was not taking "No!" as an answer. "I don't think that the topic we are going to be talking about is for public ears."

The boy simply followed her directions. In some way, he felt relieved. Finally, things were rolling. The two left the great hall, heading off into the castle. Many at the Slytherin table were snickering, joking about the fate that awaits the "golden boy".

Daphne was leading the way. Harry followed nervously. "So much for not raising attention." he thought grimly. Once they reached a suitable classroom she entered motioning for Harry to follow. The boy did so without saying a word. The girl seated herself atop of one of the desks. She carefully rearranged her robes and crossed her legs. The entire process was reeking of confidence. Then she focused her destructive gaze on the unsuspecting boy. Harry had to force his eyes from her body. He didn't want a repeat of what just happened to Ron. The girl seemed happy at that. But it certainly did not give Harry much relief.

The unforgiving gaze present in her eyes was still strong enough to make many people flee. Harry could once more fell the same pressure as last time. Suddenly he was aware of every little movement he made. His perception narrowed down to the here and now. Even breath felt like a huge effort. He could feel every heartbeat in his chest. The way his organ sped up.

"Okay, Potter! Out with it!" she demanded in a strong, confident tone. "You've been buzzing around me like an annoying little fly for the entire week. It's cute and all, but it gets old real fast! It didn't impress me at all, to begin with! I have a problem with yellow boys lusting after me!" Once she was don with her short speech the classroom seemed eerily quiet.

Harry was actually happy with her blunt words. They meant that she was ready to be completely honest with him. There will be no mind games. She certainly didn't look like the type who would beat around the bush. She just looked like someone who rips people apart. "I have a question," he responded after a while.

"I already know that!" came the rather peeved answer. It was clear. She was annoyed with him. She wanted to get the conversation over and done with. "I've about had it with lovesick boys and people who are after my family's wealth! So! What'll be it this time? Roses? Chocolate? Corny confession? All of them? Or do you have something original for a change?"

Harry was flabbergasted by her somewhat intimidating, and forward demeanour. He was just standing there. Mouth open trying to gather his wits. One thing he was sure of she was not a girl… Scratch that! She was not a woman to be trifled with!

"Come on speak up! I told you! Yellow boys bore me!" she hastened with a commanding voice.

Her harsh tone finally got Harry going. It was clear that the girl completely misunderstood his intentions. Though once he thought of the way he'd acted during the week prior he had to admit that many people would be annoyed with him. With his legs shaking in fear he opened his mouth. "I'm not here to confess anything!" he spoke in a robotic fashion. His legs were even worse now. He was surprised that of all things she seemed to relax upon hearing those words. She genuinely seemed to be relieved. The boy felt emboldened and continued. "I'm here to talk about your sister."

Daphne went silent. Harry noticed that her entire body went stiff. Her face darkened. He knew it at that moment; he had messed up! The girl tried to control herself but her grip was rapidly collapsing. Her hand was reaching for her wand. Harry was alarmed. He was sure she was about to smack him with a nasty hex. He became even more nervous when he noticed the girl was digging deeper into her robes than reasonable. There seemed to be a second hidden compartment in her clothing. Her expression was slowly but surely transforming into a depiction of righteous fury. She was on the warpath. It all became all too apparent to Harry that Astoria was a soft spot of hers. The boy decided it's for the best to press on before something bad happened. "She was attacked last Friday by Malfoy and I'd…"

"What!" hollered Daphne jumping up from her previously seated position. All of her remaining control had vanished. Harry heard something drop on the ground with a heavy metallic thump. Beforehand she was just threatening. Now! She was seething. He seriously considered running for it.

The boy gathered his courage and went on. He hoped, he won't be the one to face her wrath. "I couldn't sit by and do nothing, so, I interveined. It got ugly. That's why I'm in detention and polish bronze for the coming months." Daphne didn't care about the boy's detention. She was seething with anger. All of it was directed at a certain Slytherin.

Harry did notice that his mention of defending Astoria was the thing that saved him from being the warm-up target. He decided to use this leverage and pressed on towards his question. He hoped to do it before the opportunity of the moment faded. "I want to know what made him do that. It is so pointless to attack an innocent firstie. Why would he do that? I talked with Astoria about it and she told me to ask around."

The girl didn't give any answer. Daphne was on the warpath and wanted blood. Draco's blood to be precise. Her eyes seemed to bore into Harry's own. "I have one thing to say to you, Potter! I value my dear little sister greatly. If she has decided to let you buzz around her I've got no problem with it." the girl leaned in closer almost making the boy take a step back. "But if you hurt her in any way..." Harry blinked at her, the unspoken threat loomed above him like a dark spectre. He nodded dumbly and that seemingly satisfied the blonde.

He was happy that he was not the one on the receiving end of her anger. At the moment she was probably the most dangerous being at that castle. Malfoy was looking forward to an interesting evening. With her duty done and one more young wizard scared witless she grabbed whatever she had previously dropped and stormed out of the classroom. She had a mission! She wanted to kill… "No! Killing would be too easy for him!" she thought with fury. She wanted to make the Malfoy heir pay. If someone messed with her she could take it. It someone messed with family; that was a whole different story.

Harry was not yet beater. He decided to make one last try to grill her for information. He stepped into her path, to ask for an explanation once more. After all the trouble he went through, failing so close to his goal was not acceptable.

The girl turned towards him sending a glare at him that would have sent an angry bear running. For a second he could see his life flashing in front of his eyes. No! He was not risking it! Now he knew that Ron wasn't kidding with the criminal background. While Astoria seemed to be out of place when he pictured the Greengrass family cartel, Daphne fit right in. Among the hitmen!

His decision stood firm! He will not push it any further. Maybe in a few days. Once she cooled down. Preferably after Draco's funeral.


	4. Aftermath

**The Snake Princess**

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AN: This one took a while. Three rewrites all together. It didn't help things that Steam put my favourite childhood game up for sale. The feeling of squeezing the maximum out of every resource and still barely being able to survive. It's beyond rewarding if you manage to pull it off! It's not something you can find in modern games. And the hours I sank into that dammed game. Good grief! Got to make sure not to buy anything from that place unless I have a lot of spare time on hand!

As for this chapter. With it, I'm finally finished with putting down the groundwork of the story. Characters are in place and established. The main sequence can finally commence from here on out. Enjoy!

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**Chapter 4: Aftermath**

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The fire in the Gryffindor common room was crackling merrily casting images on the wall which were dancing all across of the Lion refuge. The flames were hungrily licking at the wood, devouring their food while gifting their light and warmth to the people present. The students of the house were sprawled across different parts of the room. They were happy that the week was over and the long-awaited freedom of the weekend had finally come to them. Few were finishing up the last vestiges of their tasks while others were already enjoying their well deserved time off.

Many were just lazing around, talking about minor things. Others were enjoying some or another form of a game. Among them, Ron Weasley was the happiest by far! "Check!" he called out with glee. His tone; victorious. It's been weeks since the last time he had any serious opponent. He boasted that he can defeat any student in the game. And rightfully so. The last one who managed to drive him into a corner was professor Flitwick. He even had a little bet going. If he can keep this up till Halloween there will be quite a win in it for him. The people on the opposite side of the betting stand were getting desperate. They were challenging him again, and again in the hope of a fluke victory. It meant many, many victims to further polish his skills on.

Once more he sprung the trap. A trap that his opponent only noticed after it was too late to do anything about it. The only choices left were the bad or the worse ones. This game was in the bag! Sitting on the opposite end of the chessboard was Neville. His face was dark. He was scratching his head trying to find a way out of the predicament. Had he been more careful, only a turn earlier he could have avoided it. Now his army was in for it. The boy took a quick account of his chances. He could extend the game a bit with some crazy moves but it would be a massacre. "Check-mate in five." he declared while toppling his king. "Good moves!"

Ron nodded smiling. "Thanks!" he answered. It was the fifth time and the evening was still young.

"Another round!" called out the Longbottom heir. "Sooner or later I'll get you!"

"Dream on Neville!" answered Ron still grinning. "But if you want to be my punching bag that much, be my guest!"

The two began setting up the board for another rematch. Ron; thinking about possible unorthodox ways to mess with the rotund boy. While Neville hoping that maybe this time he'll finally be able to take down the monster he was fighting with.

The porthole opened up with a minor groan. It was Harry, returning for the night. He looked worn and exhausted. He was relieved to be finally back among friendly faces. His meeting with Daphne could be described as... interesting, for the lack of better word. He was happy to be done with it, but less happy about the results. For a few seconds, he really thought that the girl will commit murder on him. Of the answers he was hoping to get, none were answered. At least he survived the encounter with his mind intact. That had to count for something.

Some of the Gryffindors looked up to see who the newcomer was. While in some places people would have stormed the young Potter, here the novelty of his presence had faded long ago. His housemates learned that he too was no more than a normal boy with his own troubles and fears. Even if he had a few extra strings attached to his life. Harry preferred things that way. He hated the attention. It didn't take long before even the more curious returned to their previous activities.

Harry was happy to be back to his home turf. The warm welcoming place. He made his way over to the battle raging at the chessboard. Neville was in deep thought plotting the best possible way to take down his opponent. Ron looked more at ease. The game was young. Soon he'll see the crack; then it was party time! He lazily lifted a hand to greet his friend. "Evening Harry!" he said. The boy in question just grunted before collapsing into an inviting chair next to the combatants. "So how bad did it go?" asked the redhead with a smirk.

"I thought she'll kill me!" answered Harry truthfully.

Ron's features became amused. "Nothing new there!" he remarked. "I heard stories!" he returned his gaze to the game for a few seconds to make his move. "Did you get anywhere with her?" he asked. Meanwhile, Neville was busy trying to devise a tactic to beat him.

"No. But Draco is probably having an interesting time right now. Daphne is really mad at him. I think Astoria planned this all along. She's a sneaky one!" answered Harry.

"Now you finally understand!" declared Ron slamming his fist on the table, making the chess pieces wobble.

"Hey watch it!" called out Neville. Neither of the other two cared.

Some of the magical figures had to fight to keep their balance. The queen on Ron's end actually had to resort to using its hands to keep from toppling. Ron didn't care about the disturbance he caused on the field of battle. "I've been telling you all week that she has something planned! There's no way she'd just offer a kiss without any strings attached!" declared the Weasley scion in a heated tone.

Harry glared at his friend in a warning manner. He didn't like the direction things were going. If things didn't cool down this will be the third fight they have in a twenty-four period. He was in no mood for it. "Could you cut it out? She is a good friend!"

"She's a Slytherin Harry!" countered Ron. "You can't trust any of them!"

Harry's palm quickly found his forehead. His thumb was already trying to massage the incoming headache away. It was the same story again. He was getting tired of hearing it. "Look, Ron, we've been over this already!" began the boy. He was tired. Ending Friday with a fight was not something he had planned. "She was open about the whole deal. It was my own damn fault that I banged my head against the wall and didn't ask more people! I was stupid! Okay? I didn't want people talking about me!"

Ron snorted at those words "Mighty stupid if you ask me! Now half the school thinks that you've got the hots for Daphne! I'm sure people won't talk about that." Harry seemed to dwell on Ron's words. The redhead decided to give him time to think and glanced at the chessboard for any dangers and openings.

Neville was busy thinking. All his focus was on the battle unfolding in front of him. While he was a decent practitioner of the art, he was up against someone who was promising to become a true master. His chances were slim, to say the least. The best option he had was to be observant and double and triple-check every move he made. And hope for a miracle to happen.

Ron only needed a second to take in the situation on the field. The positions Neville's pieces were not threatening at all. To make things even better after a few seconds of deliberation he found what he was looking for. A crack in Neville's formation! "Showtime!" yelled his mind. A plan was already unfolding before his eyes. He was already running the calculations on his opponent's possible options.

However, the Weasley's main focus was on his conversation with Harry. He was determined to drive his point home and there was nothing stopping him. "You'd have been better off without getting in the way off if you'd let the snakes fight it out!" he declared. "Look at the mess they got you in!"

"Ron! Don't start this again!" warned Harry.

"You are better off without those scheming gits!" countered the redhead.

Harry was annoyed by his friend's words. Sure enough, it was starting again. It had been like that for a full week. He knew Ron was meaning well, but this was getting too much. He wanted some time to relax. Not another fight. Finding a new friend was supposed to be a good thing. Despite the background they had.

Neville didn't pay attention to the conflict between his housemates. His focus was still on winning. He was meticulous in his approach. He planned out everything to the finest detail and ran several scenarios within his mind. After much deliberation, he decided on his course of action. He was not fully satisfied with the move, but it was the best he could think up. Ron countered without even looking. Neville was surprised by his opponent's swift answer. He began an even more thorough investigation. Did Ron spot something? Was there a trap set into motion? Where was the attack coming from?

Ron turned his gaze back to Harry, who was busy trying to keep his emotions under control. "Could you cut it out?" growled Harry. The warning in his voice could not be misunderstood. This was not a topic he wanted to discuss.

"I say you shouldn't have gotten involved." countered Ron.

"So I should have just let Draco have his way and beat up a first-year? Is that it?"

"Of course not! But hooking up with her. Or her sister!"

Harry bristled at that answer. "Why would I hook up with Daphne!?" he responded menacingly. "Astoria is just a friend! And as for Daphne... She's bloody terrifying! Why would I want to date her? Tell me!" yelled Harry. He was getting louder than he wanted but Ron was pushing his buttons just the right way. Some Gryffindors turned their attention to the arguing pair. "Besides!" continued Harry. "I still have zero idea what Draco wanted with her in the first place!"

The two combatants became silent. They stared at each other angrily. "Besides, it was the right thing to do!" growled Harry.

"Sure it was!" countered Ron. "But then hooking up with her? That's mighty stupid if you ask me!"

Harry felt like banging his head against a wall. "I didn't hook up with her! We are friends!" he responded. Despite his best attempt his tone was starting to become even more irritated. He was already on the ends because of his meeting with Daphne. He was seriously contemplating to leave

"It certainly looks like you did!" answered Ron. "So have you decided on the name of your firstborn?" he asked with a laugh.

"Back off!" growled Harry. "I told you! I don't want to talk about this anymore!" he hoped that the even more threatening answer would finally bear fruit. He didn't have high hopes. Ron was not one to easily back up. Especially when he though himself to be in the right. Harry wasn't surprised when his friend answered in a tone that was matching his own.

"Don't you get it, Potter!?" barked the Weasley scion. He too was getting louder than needed "This isn't some fairy tale! Sure you saved her! It's all good with you helping people! But now you are hooking up with a damn Slytherin! Do you get it, Harry!? Slytherin! You know! Green! Snake! Deception!"

Harry finally had it. He was a relatively patient person, but he too had his limits. He could take it no longer. The past week's tension, his friend's meddling finally and all the stress he was exposed to caught up to him. The whole Slytherin remark was just the tip of the iceberg. "Astoria is a good friend of mine! I'd appreciate it if you didn't talk about her like that!" he spoke slowly, his tone carried a tone that was hard to miss. Harry Potter was ready to explode.

Ron saw the writing on the wall. His friend had had enough. In many other situations, he would have left it at that. Not this time. It was his duty to open Harry's eyes. To make him understand how bad of an idea it is to befriend someone from the snake house. And most importantly to get his friend from the clutches of the Slytherin harridan. Chess game forgotten, the redhead pressed on with his argument.

"Harry, Ron could you be please keep it down. The others are staring!" remarked a quiet voice. The arguing friends turned to the source. Neville. The poor boy was staring at them unsure if he did the right thing by calling them out. He also wanted Ron to make his dammed move. He finally had a plan and wanted to see if it worked!

Ron was annoyed. He had completely forgotten about the chess-game. He was also irritated by the sudden intrusion. The young Weasley respected his opponent's, knowledge, but he didn't consider him a dangerous opponent. Neville was, in his opinion, too easily fooled, and too conservative. Something he could take advantage of. Ron didn't even look at the board. He had a plan and just barked the orders without even taking a glance at the board. His chess figures looked at each other in bewilderment. The instructions they received didn't make any sense. Their commander was usually cunning and would lead them to victory. However, the instructions they just received were everything but logical. After a few seconds, they shrugged and executed them. It was a friendly match with no stakes after all.

The young Potter was starting to ger really angry with the conversation. All he wanted to be a nice and quiet evening and even that wasn't granted to him. "We've been over this Ron!" he remarked with a grumpy tone. "You are like a broken record." he continued "Gryffindor good! Slytherin bad! I heard it more than enough times. I'm sick of it! I know that deep down you mean well! But enough is enough! Stop it! I don't want to fight!"

"You are out of your bloody mind I tell you!" responded Ron.

That last remark struck a cord inside Harry. "Shut it!" he yelled making more people look at the argument. "For all that famed intelligence you can really act like a moron!"

"What did you say?" hissed the redhead.

"You heard me right! I had it with your idiocy!" came the rather blunt answer. "I'm sick and tired with your constant arguments! You've been doing nothing but berating me and Hermione all week! We are both sick of it! She is not the only one who has a cat! It could have been any of the others in the tower! Besides, how old is your rat? Ten, twenty? He should be long dead! Something doesn't add up with that!"

Ron once more reacted to Neville's move without even really thinking or looking for the matter. The young Weasley was by now seething with anger. Only his respect for his friend kept the volcano inside him from erupting. "Maybe, just maybe! I'm trying to keep you safe? As for Hermione? Why did she bring that monster onto school grounds? That thing is a menace!"

"It's called a cat! They eat rats!" answered Harry in a flat manner, stating the obvious fact.

"Whatever!" growled Ron.

The argument continued. The only one happy with the situation was Neville. He was grinning ear to ear. Ron was too preoccupied with the fight to care about the situation on the battlefield. Some orders would have left a newbie blushing in embarrassment. The shy Gryffindor was smiling. This situation was very much to his liking. As long the two friends were busy with their back and forth his victory was assured. The bet that seemed impossible before suddenly became a very easy task. For the rest of the Gryffindors present, it became a spectator sport. They were enjoying it like some kind of tennis match as the insults and accusations kept flying back and forth.

"Is it too much to ask for a normal school year without some murderer after me? That would be fine and dandy!" remarked Harry.

"It's not my fault you are the great Harry Potter!" the redhead's remark almost made Harry growl. The fight intensified.

At one point Neville had to prod Ron's shoulder. To get his attention. It was no use. The redhead was far too gone. The Weasley boy just brushed his hand away. The other one shrugged. He wanted to give his opponent a fair warning before he sprung his final set of moves. He could already taste those treats.

"Then go to your cold-blooded lover for all I care!" snarled Ron atop of his voice. Some people in the common room were starting to take bets on the outcome of the argument.

"How many times do I have to tell you she's a friend?!" came Harry's retort.

"She uses you to get back at Draco! Some friend! And you go along! For what? A kiss?"

"It's my life! My decision!" answered Harry absolutely done with Ron's controlling attitude. The argument went on.

Ron would have left long ago in a huff if it wasn't for that dammed chess match keeping him there. That was about how much he cared about it. It was more of a hindrance to him at this point. At the same Harry was too pissed to back down. The only one who was satisfied with the state of things was Neville. He was grinning ear to ear.

"Check-mate!" declared Neville in a victorious tone.

The fight came to a sudden halt. The common room became silent. The onlookers were observing the situation with anticipation. The Weasley finally turned his full attention to the board with a single question all over his face. "How?" As his mind was slowly taking in the situation his face was slowly but surely getting paler and paler. It finally had dawned on him.

Neville smiled. "I believe you own me five butterbeers and ten chocolate frogs now!" he declared. His words bore equal measures of relief and satisfaction.

The young Weasley stared at the catastrophe in front of him. His mind was busy calculating his losses. The amount of money it would cost him... An entire month's allowance at the very least. Down the drain, it all went. The room was waiting for the explosion. Some were even hoping for some spectator sport. The boy slowly got onto his feet while examining the board. With a solemn nod, he accepted defeat. He sent a glare towards Harry before making a silent retreat towards the dorms.

The Gryffindor common room soon returned to normal. To a quiet, warm welcoming place. It was once more filled with the usual conversations. Sweets, quidditch, exploits with spells, and of course the latest gossip, which for once was not centred around the usual trio. That being, school-house affairs, relationships, and the latest rumour.

To Harry, it was somewhat of a relief. The fight left him exhausted. On one end he wanted to leave for his dorm room. More precisely his bed. However, that would mean confronting one Ronald Weasley. One didn't need to be a genius to know that right now this was not a good idea. His only option was to remain and spend some time where he was. When he thought about it more, this option didn't seem too bad. Peace and quiet was what he needed most at that time. Since most of his fellow Gryffindors were pretty mellowed out that evening the common room was as good a place for that as any. At least that was his plan.

"Harry you said something about looking for some information about an old family." asked the familiar voice of Neville.

Harry turned to the boy. The words he heard were intriguing enough and at that point, he was running out of time and ideas. Bugging Daphne certainly didn't seem to be a good approach. Not after the disastrous meeting, he had with her. It was also high time to try and ask some people he didn't approach before. But Neville of all people? Harry had no high hopes, but even this was better than nothing. "You know I'm in detention, right?" he asked.

Neville nodded. "Heard more than enough! You were quite vocal!"

Harry felt nervous when he heard the answer. Did he spill really this much information? Was he that angry at Ron? Above all, he felt embarrassed. Slowly but surely the words he had smacked against his best mate's head were starting to come back to him. Harry's embarrassment grew. "I wasn't too subtle about it was I?" he asked.

"You were very discrete!" answered Neville. One had to be a complete social novice to miss the meaning behind the words. The boys laughed about it, although Harry's laugh had more to do with ravaged, tattered nerves than anything else. The rest of the room was slowly returning to normal. The show was over. Neville leaned back in his armchair happy with the results of his game. "I still owe you one for that win," he said. "Without you distracting Ron I could have never beat him. He's a monster on the chessboard! If there's any way I can help you, just ask."

"Unless you know why Draco would be crazy enough to mess with the Greengrass of all people there's not much you can do to help me!" answered Harry not really hoping to get an answer. He was surprised when Neville let out a full-blown laugh.

"Is that all?" he asked.

"Is that all?" asked Harry mimicking the other boy's question. "You make it sound as if you knew all about it! How?

"Do you want my help?" asked the Longbottom heir. Harry didn't argue the point and was soon buried under more information on the elite of the wizarding world than he would have liked to. And when he finally heard the whole story he was looking for he finally understood why Astoria didn't want to talk about it. Losing your father to a werewolf was not something anyone would like to talk about. Then Neville moved on to the consequences that ran with the demise of the former Lord Greengrass. The family was at the height of its power. There was nobody who even had a chance to challenge them. But they were left without a male heir and there were no cousins or relatives who could take over. This meant that in the long run the families the two girls decide to marry into will end up inheriting the Greengrass empire. The reason behind Draco's interest in the girls became all too apparent. The Malfoy family was already set to become one of the most powerful and influential wizarding clans. If they somehow got their hands on the Greengrass wealth they would be allé but unstoppable. They would have the money, the political contacts on both sides of the law. They would be set for fame and fortune for generations to come.

Harry no longer wondered about Daphne's hatred of the slimy boy. She saw his approach for what it was. A union envisioned by the Malfoy senior. Draco was probably as much on board for the plan. Daphne was quite the looker. The only problem with the plan was a prospective groom's idea about impressing the female part of the population. Sure many would be easily persuaded by the wealth, many inexperienced girls could fall by mistaking the young Mafoly's attitude as confidence. What was left out of the equations was that the Greengrass were also loaded. Expensive presents didn't impress them. The boy also misjudged the prospective bride's outlook on the world. Her no-nonsense attitude.

The attack on Astoria was also explained. After repeated rebuttals, Draco decided to take a less accepted route. To flaunt his perceived power, the threat he could pose to others. In short: Blackmail! Harry felt his stomach turn. To court someone because of money. And to coerce someone into a relationship by attacking a loved one. He wished he had hit Draco harder.

Then he thought about the kiss Astoria had offered. It felt too similar to what Draco was out for. He shuddered at the thought. The decision was easy. While he would give the girl the answer to show that he figured it out, he wouldn't demand her to pay up. Not with such a background.

There was only one more question in his mind. Was Draco really that stupid? How could he think that intimidation would work on women, who were most probably familiar with such moves themselves? Harry was aghast how stupid it all was. Sometimes Draco really didn't think about the possible repercussions of his actions.

"Draco can be really stupid at times," remarked Harry.

Neville could only nod and smirk at the words. "And you say Daphne now knows about Draco's stunt?" he asked.

"Sure does!" answered the young Potter.

The other boy smirked in a fashion that was pretty foreign to him. "I wish I could be there to witness it all."

Harry Couldn't agree with the sentiment any more.

* * *

Next morning there was some interesting news spreading around the castle. Apparently the fight in the Gryffindor commons was nothing compared to the one in the snake pit. Daphne did indeed confront Draco. According to some descriptions it was glorious. The girl descended like a mad dragon and mauled him without mercy. Draco tried to parry her assault but it was no use. The words were soon followed up upon by an explosion in the Slytherin retreat. The place was completely devastated and was deemed uninhabitable until the damage had been repaired. Even the most optimist guesses said that it would be days before it will be usable once more.

Strangely nobody was injured in the incident. This didn't mean it was not the main topic on everybody's lips. Some said it was accidental magic. Some others stated that it was a deliberate attack initiated by Daphne that went haywire. The only thing that was clear that without a buildup warning everyone to run it could have been much, much worse.

To Harry, all guesses and predictions were secondary. He was making his way to the potion repository for the second day of his detention. When he entered, he already found Astoria there. She was busy with polishing bronze. What surprised him was the fact that she was not grinning ear to ear like he expected her to. She seemed to be in deep thought. Only after she noticed his presence did the girl cheer up. Still, there was a telltale sign that something was out of place. Some invisible weight was on her shoulders.

"Is your sister in trouble?" asked Harry. It wasn't really a question. He knew well that even with all the connections Daphne was probably in trouble with the school authorities. No matter who you are, or how much power you wield, blowing up a room full of people is not something you can get away with.

"No she's fine!" answered Astoria with her usual catish smile. "She's a bit angry with me that's all."

"But she blew up your common room!" declared Harry. "You can't just walk away from that scot-free."

"It wasn't Daphne!" came the relaxed answer. "For a few seconds I thought she'll put a few holes into him, but she knows better than that."

"Then who did it?" he asked.

"I don't know!" answered the young girl with all honesty. "It wasn't her! That I'm sure of! She didn't even have her wand out." she continued. "It was bombarda spell. There's no way to cast that one without a wand."

"You mean someone else did all that?"

"Pretty much! It looked like a version of the spell that was somehow inscribed into the ground. At least that's what Daphne told me about it. Luckily that type takes a few seconds before it goes off. My housemates had enough wits to run for it before the blast."

"So you say it was some booby trap?" asked Harry.

The girl nodded. Her face was solemn. Not nearly as cheerful as he was used to. "I'm worried." she said. "That spell! It was of a rare variant! It shouldn't be possible! They are all dead!"

The words were not really meant for Harry. Astoria was slowly massaging her temple while in deep thought. After a few seconds, she seemed to shake herself from her stupor. A genuine smile started to spear across her lips. "No use going all depressed." she declared. "We'll figure it out sooner or later! Besides, it's Daphne's problem, not mine."

"If you say so." answered Harry somewhat surprised by her sudden change of attitude.

The girl noticed his shock and her smiled grew even wider. "No use moping about something you can't help!" she said in a cheery voice. "As the muggle song goes: Don't worry! Be happy!"

It was the boy's turn to smile. He was still perplexed by her sudden change of mood. He had to admit, it was contagious. This was the Astoria he got to know. Always ready to find the positive side of things. "About the challenge." he said with a smile. Thinking he might as well start with that. "I figured it out!"

"So you want to collect?" she asked with an elfish expression.

"Nah! Leave it!" he remarked. "Draco is nuts! Wanting to marry someone for their inheritance is just wrong!"

"The wizarding nobility is like that! My sister is dodging one proposal after the other. With dad gone every opportunist is after her to make a grab for our business. Sometimes it's better to be the spare!" an amused smirk formed on the girl's face after she said the last few words.

Harry couldn't help but smile. The girl's good mood was proving contagious. He had to agree with those words. "No wonder your sister was angry with me yesterday! She thought I wanted to date her for her money!"

"Actually not really!" responded Astoria.

"How so?" asked Harry puzzled by the answer.

Astoria took a few last swipes across the surface of her cauldron. It was flawless, almost sparkling. "Getting married because of other reasons than love is something my sister accepted long ago." the answer left Harry speechless. "We both did." continued the girl. "It's a hazard of being among the top dogs. She was mad because she thought you wanted to do the old 'flowers and charming words' routine on her!"

"What's wrong with that?" asked Harry picking up a rag. He was doing his best to mask his surprise and was failing badly at it.

Astoria placed the finished cauldron among the clean ones. She already gave it more attention than it deserved. The pile of clean pots let out a few clinking sounds as their rest was disturbed. "Daphne values competence and skill above all. Presents only annoy her! And you saw how she is when she's annoyed."

"Don't remind me! I thought she'd kill me!" responded Harry remembering his terrifying encounter. "There's one thing I don't get! Is Draco really that stupid? How could he think he could get away with trying to intimidate you?" asked Harry as he walked up to the pile of used cauldrons. The pile looked much smaller than last week. For that he was grateful.

"You said it yourself! He is that stupid!" answered Astoria while making her way to the boy. "He thought we are two delicate wallflowers. Well, he thought wrong!" She said the last word with a twinkle in her eyes. After a few seconds of silence grabbed the front of Harry's robes and pulled him down to her level. She placed a quick peck on the boy's cheek before beating a hasty retreat.

The room became silent. Harry was somewhat stunned by the girl's sudden actions. At the same time, Astoria's cheeks took on a faint blush. Neither of the two knew what to do or say. They could hear someone rush past the door. Harry opened his mouth to speak but reconsidered. The silence was getting awkward.

Soon he made a second attempt. "I told you it's not necessary!" he said.

"You would reject a young girl's kiss?" she asked in a mock pout.

"Of course not!" stuttered the boy in embarrassment.

The girl rushed back and repeated her previous performance, this time letting her lips linger on his cheek for a little longer. "I should have started with this after you saved me! But what can I say I'm a bit shy when it comes to feelings!"

"You aren't the only one!" thought Harry while trying to commit what just took place to memory.

"You know, you were the first boy I ever kissed." she admitted.

The two teens stood around not knowing what to do or say. The awkward silence cast on them was more persistent. It took some longer this time around but the ice melted once more. This time it was Harry who managed to think of a good topic. The cauldrons were left forgotten.


	5. From the Shadows

**The Snake Princess**

* * *

AN: I still don't own anything of J. K. Rowling's Harry potter world, neither do I get any money from this, so don't sue me!

The chapter still feels a bit rough around the edges so expect a few tweaks to it in the future. The emotional rollercoaster is on purpose, but the wording still feels a bit off in some places. My dammed perfectionist attitude really. But the main storyline is finally on the roll! What has me still surprised is that the plot is changing like hell. I need a new booklet for it. The old one is full. That is a definite first! Some old prescrips are also out the window. Usually I have a rock solid idea about where it goes. Well looks like this time that's not the case.

Anyways! Hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed creating it!

Laterz!

* * *

**Chapter 5: From the Shadows**

* * *

"Just a little more!" mumbled the young girl, snuggling deeper into her pillow, fighting the call of the morning sun. Her body was ready for the challenges of the day, but her spirit still craved sleep. Relaxation and dreams. Sweet, sweet slumber.

The rays of the sun were streaming in through the gaps of the curtain. Casting a soft light across her body, not letting her fall back into the land of dreams. She didn't give up. Those dreams were too alluring to give up. The day before was horrendous. Instead of the usual lazy day, that Sunday was to her, she was again and again bombarded with questions.

"Did you see who cast the spell?"

"Did you see anything out of the ordinary?"

"Do you have any idea, who could have benefited from destroying the common room?"

"Do you know of anybody who could have been targeted by the attack?"

Again and again. Repeatedly, from different angles, in different forms, all in the hope of finally getting an answer. In the hope of capturing the culprit. The school officials and the aurors were sure determined to find out who was behind the entire incident. They were out for blood. To her, and the slytherins, this was not really compensation. They just wanted to have their day of rest. They didn't get it.

How she wished to just forget about Monday and stay in bed. One of her roommates pulled her curtains open and warned her about the time. She cursed herself for asking them to do this the night before. At the time it seemed like a good idea. Now she had her doubts about it. She needed her beauty-sleep. The sleep she was not getting.

The girl pulled her sheets tighter, making sure to close every possible exit where the warmth gathered by her covers could escape. At the same time, she pulled her pillow over her head in an attempt to keep the light out. It was no use. She needed the curtains of her bed closed before she lost her battle.

One of her arms ventured from underneath her welcoming sheets in a vain hope to restore the darkness. The search for the elusive curtain was proved to be futile. Once more she cursed her foresight. The disturbance caused by the light had to be ended. The breach in the defence of her slumber had to be resolved, sealed. Possibly welded shut. Just to be sure!

The expedition proved to be futile. She soon let her arm retreat to the warm sheets. She stood still for several seconds refusing to give up. Finally, she had to admit that trying to fall back into sleep was not going to work. With a soft groan, she pushed herself into a sitting position while mumbling "Good morning!"

She didn't register the answers of her roommates. It was too early for that. Her mind was still functioning on autopilot. It was struggling to boot up. She moved a pyjama clag leg from underneath the covers and shivered as the cold air hit her bare foot. This resulted in a mad dash to locate her slippers. Only after she located the elusive footwear did she continue on with her venture outside of the safety of her sheets. She hated the feel of cold air. How Daphne could just jump out of bed every morning. She had no idea. To her, it was a mystery.

It took some more time for her mind to come into full function. She stretched and jawed, feeling very sluggish. However slowly but surely the webs in her mind subsided giving way to reason and logic. She glanced at the night-table next to her bed. The glass of water she left there last evening went missing. This was unusual. Her wand was still resting there. On a piece of expensive-looking paper.

The edges were embroiled with an elaborate golden decoration. The pattern spoke of high quality. Even with the techniques and abilities of a wizard, it was something that would take hours to create. Whoever the source of this message was; they had money to burn. Then there was the red script in the centre. Red ink in the wizarding world was reserved for special occasions signifying importance, formality, also in certain cases passion. It was rarely used if ever. Then there was the penmanship. Each letter was brought to the paper with great care. All of them were precise and elegant.

Astoria grabbed the scripture and eyed it with suspicion. She glanced at the first letter. It was dominating over the others. Like the initial in a medieval codex of some kind. That single letter was already a work of art that would need hours to do.

The first line read: "To my Princess" She almost laughed. This was a prank. It had to be!

She looked around in the room with suspicion. As far as she knew the other girls she lived with had no reasons to prank her. Neither did they look like they'd like pulling tricks on other people. But then who would send her something like this? This had to be a prank!

"Okay, guys! Nice try but this is a bit too easy to figure out!" she called out to get the attention of her roommates. It was also her way to test their reaction. Their expressions will tell her all she needed to know.

The five teens she shared the room with all turned towards her with vacant faces. They had no idea what of what she was talking about. The features were a clear giveaway. They weren't responsible for her sudden mail. Within seconds the girls assembled around her to gawk at the paper. They were all interested chirping among each other, gushing, talking about what it could possibly contain. Even if it was a prank they weren't in on it. There was no way any of them could fake it so well.

"Oh my God! A love letter!" squealed one of them. The dark-haired girl was jumping up and down acting pretty much like the stereotypical young teen.

"Cassandra you're not helping!" remarked Astoria glaring at the other girl.

"Come on it's a love letter! And look at it! I bet the boy who wrote this is a real softie! It's so romantic! The guy must really like you!" the retort had Astoria shaking her head.

The blond girl glared at her friend. She knew her roommate was naive but she never guessed that she was so gullible. Sure it was a beautiful and well made, but the letter was just emitting the wrong kind of vibes. Something was wrong with it. How come none of the other girls came to the same conclusion? Was she paranoid over nothing?

The girl looked at the paper with suspicion. For a second she considered throwing it away. It was just a bad attempt at a prank. There was no way anyone in their right mind would send her anything like this. She considered herself nothing special. She was average in many aspects and her body was still mostly that of a child. There was no way someone would have such a strong interest in her. Sure, she had a wit that was rare among people her age. She also knew well the many liked her attitude to life. It was not enough to warrant such an overblown confession. Not to her.

She could just throw it away, but if she didn't read it she would have no chance figure out who was the one behind it. Having at least some vague idea of the sender's identity could be useful. After a short deliberation, the girl decided it was for the best for her to just get to it and see what she can find. She looked at her roommates. They were all focused on her, she could see the stars in the other girls' eyes. She resisted the need to shake her head. All that because of one stupid letter! She couldn't believe it.

"My princess finally I can talk to you! Even if only just like this! I've been waiting for this for a long time! Waiting for the chance, to give you this message my princess. The time we can finally meet is coming closer and there is nothing that can stop it! The waiting was long and hard. It was worth it! I've been watching you! You, and your sister! Always close by, just outside of reach."

Astoria had to take a double-take. This was everything but a love letter. Even the first few words were enough to send shivers across her entire body. The sender clearly did not have her best interest in mind. Something also told her that there were also a few screws loose in that head. She felt uneasy as she continued to read on. She felt as if some evil spirit was looming behind her back. She had to resist the urge to check for anyone behind her. The dark feeling that spread across her body... It gave her the goosebumps. The girl fought against the feeling and carried on.

"To be able to see you was a bliss in itself. To know that YOU will be the ones to pay for your kin's transgressions against my own. Even more so! YOU will be the one to restore my family to its former glory! You don't know yet, but you will do so with pride and joy as your own kin falls into memory."

"There's nothing you can do about it! I hope the months spent in despair of the inevitability of your fate will teach you humility my princess."

Astoria was freaked out by those words. She tried to tear her eyes from the message, but she couldn't. Her very own eyes betrayed her. They were going further and further down forcing her to read the entirety. In that second she knew, she was in trouble. "It's a spell!" screamed her mind. That was about all she could do. Whatever was embedded into the paper by now it took full effect. It was forcing her to keep going. She tried to throw the letter away. There was no use. Her limbs didn't comply. She was trapped in her own body, her arms and legs refusing to act as she wanted them to.

If the feeling of helplessness wasn't enough the feeling of utter despair was getting overwhelming. She didn't know where is was coming from. Usually, it was hard to scare her but right now she wanted to scream. She tried. Fought hard, to do even that little bit, to regain any control, but the magic was too strong. She could also feel as the emotions spreading across her body were slowly growing even darker. She would have shook in fear if the magic let her, it didn't even allow that tiny relief. Instead, it forced her to remain completely still. Trapped. With no way out. She could only hope that once she finished it will let her go.

The letter turned more and more dark. Veiled threats mixed with compliments about her looks and more gloating about her future. She felt her stomach turn as the spell made her continue. Futile attempt, after futile attempt of resistance. Her body simply wouldn't do as she willed. This got only worse when the letter talked about her choice of clothing. Especially her choice of bedwear. The composer of this monstrosity really knew everything about her. She wanted once more to scream in despair. The spell wouldn't let her.

The next revelation came when the letter told her that the explosion in the dorm room was caused by the sender. Once more a gloat followed telling her how easily he could have taken her and her sister's lives. It talked about further tests at deciding which of the two of them will deserve to be the sender's true wife and who will end up as nothing but a plaything. Those words let her utterly horrified. "You better do well my Princess! You don't want to be my plaything! I'll be watching your performance!"

Her soul shivered. Her body didn't comply. She tried once more to stop reading but there was no use. The curse held firm. No matter how much she wanted to stop she couldn't. Finally, she reached the end. It was signed as: "Your Future Lord". She wished she could faint.

The spell finally ended. She almost fell to the ground from the sudden release. The letter was out of her hands as soon as she realized she had control of her body again. She was relieved that the torture was over with. Her body was shaking. All the emotion broke out in a sudden burst. Tears were gathering in the corners in her eyes. She was doing her best to keep her composure. The paper floating in the air burst into flames that turned into ash. She couldn't care less. She was finally free. She felt tired, very tired.

The girl fought to keep standing while panting heavily. It was as if she just finished a marathon. Her legs felt sore and she could barely keep standing. The other girls in the room were in a panic. She didn't understand why, but it was only now that they rushed to her side to help. Even so, she was grateful. After several seconds she gave up her struggle and collapsed on the ground. Her friends did their best to ease her fall. One thing was clear to everybody. This was everything but a prank.

"Are you all right?" asked one of the girls, concerned about her.

"What happened to you?" asked another one before Astoria even had the chance to answer the first question.

"You were surrounded by some black aura. It wouldn't let us get to you! It was sickening!" added the third girl. Many other questions followed.

Astoria would have hugged them all. She was happy that a few weeks were enough to make such friends. She tried to lift her arms, but they felt like lead. "How long was I out?" she asked.

"Just a minute or two. That spell wouldn't let us get close. It kept us away from you. It was like an invisible wall!" came the answer from the dark-haired girl. She was almost hysterical.

The young Greengrass responded with a tired smile. She wanted to crawl back into bed and fall asleep, but there was something more important to do. As far as she understood, she wasn't the only target. Her sister, Daphne, also received a similar message. She had to get up. She had to warn her.

Astoria made an attempt to stand and almost immediately she fell back to the ground as her legs buckled under her weight. The second attempt was successful. She managed to get to stand, bur she was shaky. "I have to warn Daphne!" called out. Her roommates were doing their best to keep her from falling.

"You should really rest! You're in no shape to run around!" protested Cassandra. Astoria didn't care about the advice and gathered all her strength to move out. The raven-haired girl grabbed her wrist trying to stop her. "As our secretary of morale, I tell you to get back in bed and sleep it off. You looked worn out enough when you got up!"

The blonde girl was about to protest when the door of the dorm room slammed open. Daphne charged in looking completely unlike herself. Her breaths were ragged, her hair a mess her clothes dishevelled. Her expression was radiating desperation. She noticed Astoria, barely standing on her feet surrounded by her roommates. Then her eyes locked on the pile of ashes not far from them.

Then she did something that was completely foreign to her personality. She cursed. In the foulest language possible!

When Daphne got up that morning, at the usual ungodly hour, she dismissed the letter as another bad attempt at courting her. She received more than enough love-letters to get sick of them. She left it to be dealt with later. Her morning stroll was more important than some love-sick boy.

Upon returning from her walk she finally decided to humour the poor guy and looked at the message. She saw the addressing and almost laughed. "To my Lady," it said. The girl almost threw it away then and there. Then she noticed the well-hidden spell. Reading only a single letter more would have fired it. The compulsion charm would have taken full effect. From then on there would be no escape. Struggling would do nothing more than wear out the recipient. It was a genius addition to the spell. The more the victim struggled the stronger the magic became by feeding on the target's own power.

Then she noticed the second part. The part that really made it nasty! An enchantment that would instil the emotions of dread and fear into the one forced to read. Whoever was behind the letter had to be a real sadist! It was definitely not from Draco. The boy was a pain in the back, but he was simply not devious enough for this. He definitely didn't have the malice to go this far. The source had to be someone else. It was then that the older Greengrass came to the conclusion that there was a chance that her little sister could be also targeted. She immediately made a mad dash to warn her.

Much to her dismay it was far too late. During breakfast Daphne watched Astoria like a hawk. She wanted blood, but there was no target to direct her attention to. The younger girl put on a brave face, but it was clear that the spells took their toll. She ate slowly, not really enjoying her food. At times she looked around as if checking for possible threats. And the expression of utter exhaustion on her face... It made her older sister's blood boil.

Daphne wanted to murder someone. She reached into her pocket and grasped her mirror. It helped a bit, not much. She knew she won't be able to fully relax till the sender's body isn't filled with holes. Preferably holes caused by her.

As the first class started the elder blonde was still in a bad mood. At least she could talk Astoria into taking the day off. It was a small condolence. Her mind was on the one behind the letter. She wanted revenge. She didn't really pay attention to class. There was something more important to do. She didn't really care about the lesson either. It was a simple revision of the commikulus spell. To her, a downright joke. Both figuratively and literally. She learned it ages ago and had more important matters to deal with. Before she could deal with the author of the "love-letter" she had to figure out who it was. Most people in the school simply didn't have the needed knowledge to create those spells. The few that were left didn't really have a reason. Neither did they have the money for it. This meant it was someone from the outside. This disturbed her even more. It meant that the one responsible found an opening in the considerable defence of Hogwarts. She fought the need to curse again at that conclusion.

Soon it was her turn to face the boggart. She stepped forward putting on her mask. Casting the spell was easy for her. Child's play even! She wanted to get it over with. Professor Lupin opened the wardrobe containing the beast, letting it loose once more. True to its nature the creature turned into Daphne's greatest fear. As it went through its transformation it fell to the ground, grew blond hair. When Daphne saw the seemingly empty, lifeless green eyes she stiffened. There was no way she could turn this into anything funny.

At the same time, she finally had enough. The girl lashed out with her wand using all of her power. She let out all the pent up emotion channelling her feelings at the creature. The boggart along with the wardrobe it was residing in was turned to dust as her spell hit it. The only other thing left behind were the scorch marks on the wall. She was not sorry.

"Did you see what she did to that boggart? I knew she was crazy, but what she did there was really over the top!" remarked Ron. It was the umpteenth time.

Harry and Hermione exchanged a glance. They were both sick and tired of the Weasley boy. Everybody was talking about the incident, but he was really overdoing it. At the same time professor, Trelawney was rambling on about opening one's third eye. About feeling the fabric of fate as it was about to be sewn, and so on. It was always the same old mantra. They knew it by heart by now.

"We've been there Ron! We saw it all!" responded Hermione in an annoyed tone while trying to keep calm. She hated this class with a passion. Sure there was a textbook describing things to look out for, but she never saw anything that would prove that divination was a real science. As far as she was concerned all of it was just made up. Guesswork, and nothing more!

Today's topic was predicting the near future. In her eyes, it was not much different from the first time she sat in this class. She looked at the bottom of her teacup and saw nothing but a mess there. There was nothing that could be made any sense of. Harry peered into his own he too came up with a blank. He was starting to regret ever choosing this class. Even if there was something to this divination thing; by now he should have come to some understanding, which he didn't. Also knowing the future didn't mean much if he didn't know how to alter it.

"So what will it be this time?" asked Ron amused at the lack of any useful result. "Let's spice our deaths up a bit! House elf revolt? Dragon fire?" Hermione just shook her head while leafing through the textbook trying to find anything that had even the vaguest similarity to what she had in her cup. Despite her best efforts, she couldn't keep the smirk off her face.

At the same time, Harry was staring at his own results. As he was rolling the cup around in his hand something clicked in his mind. "Is that The Fool?" he asked aloud finally spotting something that seemed to look promising.

Ron shook his head, laughing at the absurdity of seeing anything in the mess that the cups contained. Hermione was glad to finally have something useful and also peered into Harry's teacup. "There! Do you see that?" asked Harry as he quickly pulled out his wand and pointed at the part he seemed to manage to identify.

"Yeah... Kind of." remarked the bushy haired girl, happy that she finally could make something out. "It means a change or a new beginning. But which one? Is that a white star above it?" her question pulled Harry's attention to that part after some deliberation he nodded.

"That means life!" she remarked.

"So you'll meet a murderer and end up getting killed in a completely new fashion? Good one!" joked Ronald. His two friends forced back their need to chuckle. After smiling at his own joke for a few seconds Ron also peered into the cup. He really had a problem in believing that his friends actually managed to locate something of use. After a few seconds, he was surprised that he too could locate those signs. Then he noticed something else. "Hey is that a Gemini?" he asked completely baffled about the abundance of findings. "And the Hermit too!" he added after a few seconds.

The other two needed some time but came to an agreement that Ron's findings were true. Harry's face now bore a full-blown smile. Finally! After months there was some success on the horizon. This class may yet prove useful after all. He closed his eyes for a second trying to gather all the information he knew about the various signs and combine them. "So... according to this thing, I'll meet some people and I will choose one of them. Is that it?"

Hermione shrugged. "Maybe! It sure seems like that!"

"Damn no death in this one!" joked Ron. He tried to say that with a straight face, but despite his best efforts a smirk found its way to his lips. The three gryffindors stared at each other with amusement. Even Hermione had to stop for a second to fight off the need to laugh. Even with their current misunderstandings, they were happy that their friendship was solid.

"Let's see your future Ron! Maybe we'll find some death for you!" responded Hermione grabbing the boy's cup. This time around the fight against laughter proved to be harder. A few snickers made their way to the surface.

Professor Trelawney chose that second to step to their desk to check on their work. Her eyes were almost vacant as she reached for Harry's cup. She took one look at the inside. Her face went horrid. She threw the cup away as if the innocent utensil was carrying the plague. The seer proceeded to stare at Harry as if he was the next convict in line at death row. The sound of the cup breaking filled the air making everyone look at them.

Harry groaned it was that part of the lesson again. There was no class during which she didn't predict his demise in one form or another. Her body was visibly shaking as she slowly backed away from him. Harry slammed his forehead against the desk in defeat awaiting the next foretelling of his impending death. Ron couldn't help it anymore. Laughter took over him. He soon fell from his chair and continued to howl on the ground while holding his stomach trying to ward off the pain emitting from his strained muscles.

Hermione was the only one who could keep her cool, but she was seriously considering if it was worth coming to this class in the future.

The divination professor seemed oblivious to the small group's state as she stared at Harry. Trelawney soon opened her mouth and started to speak in her usual eerie tone. "This eve you will encounter two fair maidens. They will be like twins in soul, but strangers in nature. The one you choose will haunt you till the end of your days!"

Harry was done with this class. He really was.


	6. Moonlight

**The Snake Princess**

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AN: Sorry for the long wait. I spent a long part of the last few weeks doing some reconstruction of the previous few chapters. It brought them more in line with some of the changes in the plot. The character of Cassandra is a particular example. I originally wanted to use Luna Lovegood but there would have been at least a dozen places where I would have had to adjust her personality, maybe even change her age. Sometimes it's better to respect the original character and bring out a new one. Even if it is just a fanfic...

Well enough of my yapping. On to the story! Enjoy, and don't forget to leave a review if you like the new stuff.

I still don't own anything of Rowling's Harry Potter world, neither do I get any money from this, so don't sue me!

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** Chapter 6: Moonlight**

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The boy was late. He only had a few minutes before the afternoon quidditch practice. He was darting towards the changing room at full speed. A left turn came at the statue of Siegfried the troll slayer. He could feel as his feet were slipping a bit on the floor. Once he managed to redirect his momentum, he floored it immediately, trying to go as fast as humanly possible.

At the next corner, he took a right turn. His feet were skidding again on the stone underneath. He had finally reached the central tower with the moving stairways. There he came to a full stop. His eyes took in the positions of the magical stairways. At the same time, he was trying to make out the best possible route towards his destination. He almost jumped in joy. It was not the optimal combination, but the way was free to one of the best shortcuts possible.

He took off once again going as fast as he could. Up to the first floor. Then the second corridor left. His momentum almost caused him to crash into a wall. This time he used his foot to bounce off the stone surface. Then he was off, like a bat out of hell.

The first match of the year was Gryffindor against Slytherin. Winning it was a must. He also couldn't wait to stick it to Draco and his company. He'd be dammed if he'd let the snakes win. If there was anything to be done against them, he was game. That included training until dark every day.

He hit the brakes at the painting of The Unknown Alchemist. He rubbed the frame on the left about a third from the top. The picture reacted by jumping aside revealing a well-known tunnel. It led directly to the quidditch tower. Once more he was off in a mad dash.

* * *

"Come on 'Ria! This will be fun!" called out a raven-haired witch. She was skipping towards the quidditch pitch with a smile on her face. Her movements were more like a dance than mere steps. Her chocolate brown eyes were sparkling with innocence and joy. Her hands were flailing back and forth excessively with each step in an excited manner. She turned to the girl who was following her.

Unlike her, the blond was covered by layers upon layers of clothing. The series of clothes hid her entire form. Only her green eyes could be seen from underneath. She was, even now, trying to pull the clothes tighter in an attempt to seal off any crevice where the cold air could make it under her protective layers of clothing. She hated the cold and would have preferred to stay inside where it is nice and warm. She especially hated it when she wanted nothing more than to disappear from the world. "How could I let them talk me into this!" she grumbled under her breath. "It was so nice and warm in bed!"

She pulled the thick woollen cap on her head further down with her gloved hand and adjusted her shawl. The dammed thing kept slipping allowing the cold air to come into contact with her skin. It was also too thin. She decided she needed to buy a thicker one.

The first girl laughed. "Come on I know it's only the Gryffindor team, but there are a few cute boys among them. You really need to have some fun after the whole disaster this morning!"

"I need a nice and warm fireplace and some hot chocolate, thank you!" came the rather grumpy retort. The girl shivered once more. "I hate the cold!" she mumbled.

The raven girl laughed. "It's not that bad, enjoy it!" she answered. The ball of clothes glared at her. "Look at yourself!" continued the dark-haired witch. "How are you going to get a boyfriend like that!?"

The glare emitted from the walking clothes rack intensified.

"You've got the looks! Let them see it!" continued the witch oblivious to the deadly stare she was receiving.

"Cass'! You're not helping here!" came the unveiled threat. "There's some crazy stalker out there, who wants to force me into marriage and make me have his children!"

Cassandra simply smiled. "That's why I asked you to come with me!" she said in a calm tone. "You need to find a champion! Someone to protect you!" the green eyes were now all but glowing with fury. The raven witch remained unaffected. "Now take off some of that excess stuff. Boys won't see your nice curves!"

The ball of clothes was now growling.

The dark-haired girl continued still oblivious to the threat. "You see these?" she asked pointing at the mounds that spoke volumes about her well-developed bust. "Those gryffies won't be able to take their eyes off of these."

"Then use them during the match!" came the angry answer. "It would be a great advantage for our team!"

"Don't be like that 'Ria! Show off those curves!"

"You keep forgetting that I'm flat as a board!"

"I'm sure there are boys who like them small!"

The response came in the form of a stare that would have killed a lesser human.

* * *

The boy charged out of the changing room on his broom. Up the stairs at full speed. He fired a spell at a window in his way. The sashes flew open, not even a second before he charged through the exit he created. Another spell was cast by him, this time reversing the previous one. The window slammed shut behind him with a loud bang. The glass rattled, but no real harm was done. If Madame Hooch ever saw that stunt she would have a hard time deciding to praise him for his skills or strangle him for his reckless attitude.

He wouldn't care either way he had a practice to be at, as the seeker of the team he had a high responsibility to ensure victory. He brought out everything he had in him and his broom. Charging past the few onlookers, who were gathering to observe the Gryffindor team's practice session. He was aiming for the small open spot next to Oliver Wood, the Gryffindor captain, for a pinpoint landing.

He shot past two young girls at a breakneck speed making their clothes flutter in his wake. They were standing on the bleachers staring at his speeding form. "Was that Harry Potter?" asked Cassandra, her eyes wide with admiration.

"He sure seemed to be in a hurry!" remarked Astoria. The boy reached his destination and hit the break bringing his broom to a halt on a dime. He used the momentum of his body to take him the last foot or two before he landed in a space that was barely enough for one to be standing in let alone to land. The way he went from going at full speed to zero to land in an area the size of a napkin was impressive, to say the least.

Astoria had to admit it was quite a stunt. She was never a fan of brooms, but this level of control was something else if not a bit insane.

The practice started up with the usual routine of doing laps around the pitch. What was not normal were all the bludgers that were brought out. Each player had two of the metal balls sent after them, making the normally somewhat easy task much more interesting. The team spent much of those few laps busy with dodging and weaving while doing those laps.

It was Wood's newest great idea. He wanted his players to be able to dodge even the sneakiest move the opponent's beaters could throw their way. While the team didn't fully agree with the new and improved method of doing their warm-up, they also didn't argue too much over it. The Quidditch Cup always in front of their eyes. This year they will have it! If it meant putting up with crazy practice methods of their captain, so be it!

Cassandra was staring at the training mesmerised, Astoria too was forced to admit that the team was not half bad. Quidditch was not really her sport. The few times she saw the Slytherin team practice she always thought that they were brutish and relied too much on their muscle-power. By comparison, the Gryffindors were downright elegant in their own way. Though the sport itself was still the same. She had no idea how people could enjoy watching it while well in the knowledge that at any second someone's tooth can get knocked out or you can have the dubious joy to see someone's head bashed in.

After the first few laps around the pitch, the team members split up to practice the tasks at their own positions. "These guys are crazy!" remarked Cassandra when seeing all the bludgers were still not captured. The black balls were happily doing their rounds making attempt after attempt to hit the players. The said players at the same times were doing their best to make closer contact with the slabs of iron out to break their bones.

"What did Malfoy say about beating the lions to a pulp?" asked the blonde girl from underneath the layers of wool.

The witch next to her laughed. "Yeah, our guys really need to step up their game if they want to keep up with this team." The two girls didn't speak any more words. They were astonished by the display of skill presented to them.

Up in the sky, Harry was busy avoiding getting hit again. The two bludgers on his tail already scored two. His right shoulder was still stinging from the second. His eyes were busy scanning the area for the small golden form of the snitch. Again, the bludgers were coming his way. Both from a different direction. Turning, either way would mean taking a hit. At the last possible second, he did a half barrel-roll and ended up upside down, clutching the handle of his ride with his hands and feet to stay on his broom. The bludgers passed harmlessly where his chest would have been.

The boy smirked at the improvised manoeuvre, still hanging on, his head pointing towards the ground. It was a good move to have. He also ha a new idea that came to him. It would be quite the surprise for Draco once he used it on him. He smiled at the thought. Baiting in the aggressive balls, then letting the blonde boy have it in the gut. Then, from the corner of his eye, he noticed a flash. It was hovering just above the stands. The snitch! He charged at it at full speed while turning upright. He used the momentum of the dive to reach the highest speed possible.

There were two girls standing next to his prize. As he approached, in a manner that resembled an attempt to break the sonic barrier, both witches jumped to the side with a shriek. The golden ball apparently noticed his approach and made a dash for it, but the boy was too fast. After a short chase, he caught it and let out a shout of triumph. At the same time all the bludgers, that were busy trying to clean the team's clock, fell out of the sky. Much to their relief.

"You really are insane Wood!" yelled Angelica panting after almost an hour of dodging the iron balls. Harry had very similar feelings about the training idea. How the team captain managed to get his hand on possibly every bludger in Hogwarts was beyond him. With a practised motion he turned his broom around and started to fly back to the pitch.

Cassandra was watching him adoration as he flew by. She was astonished by the ferocity of his approach and the casual way he was now returning to his friends. The boy noticed her stare and waved at her. The girl almost fainted from the attention. "Did you see he waved at me!" she called out to Astoria with excitement.

The young Greengrass was shaking her head at her fellow witch's performance. "Of course he waved at you! You were drooling! Only the blind didn't notice!"

"Did not!"

The blonde witch was seriously thinking of returning to the dorms. Even with all the layers, the cold was starting to get to her. As for the quidditch practice; sure it was impressive, but still. It was quidditch. She felt more at home on the spring floor. Doing her dance routines. She had to admit, the players preset were good, but to her, the whole game seemed to be too chaotic. It was hard to find any kind of harmony in it. And worst of it all, even though the Gryffindors didn't play by brute strength, the game was still simply barbaric.

Then an idea popped into her mind. She grinned at her friend. "Hey Harry!" she yelled. The boy in question stopped and turned around looking at her. She waved. "Could you come over here for a minute?" she called out again.

"Are you crazy? You can't just wave down Harry Potter of all people!" whispered Cassandra to her friend. Her protest came too late. The boy was already floating over to them in a casual manner causing her even more distress.

Astoria was grinning behind her scarf."I thought you wanted to hook up with a quidditch player." she said faking innocence. The dark-haired girl was opening and closing her mouth trying to think of any counter. "Cassandra you're too easy!" snickered the girl.

Harry came to a halt in front of them. "Sorry if I scared you two." he said. His expression showed that he was indeed sincere.

"My friend here really wants to get to know you!" responded Astoria pointing at the witch next to her.

For a second the boy almost lost control of his broom at that declaration. The blonde girl had to force the laughter down. At the same time, the raven-haired girl was having similar problems. If not worse! "Astoria are you mad?" hissed Cassandra to her. "He's the famous Harry Potter! He took down You-Know-Who! And last year, I heard, he took on a pack of manticores in the chamber of secrets!"

"You said we are here to catch some boys why not go for the big fish!" remarked Astoria. The edges of her lips were getting dangerously close to her ears. The other witch almost fainted.

"Can I help you?" asked Harry while examining both girls. He didn't know the one with black hair at all. And with the way the other one was covered up with layers upon layers of clothing, there was no chance to identify her. "Did I scare you when I charged for the snitch?" he asked.

"Don't you recognise me?" asked the blonde witch with a fake pout. Cassandra, on the other hand, was an absolute mess. She was stuttering having trouble saying a word.

For a few seconds Harry stared, trying to identify the girl. He came up with a blank and shook his head trying to put a name on the person. The boy felt very bad, he was about to say sorry when his gaze fell on her eyes. Those green eyes were very familiar. They way they twinkled with mischief. He knew that gaze! "Astoria?" he asked.

The girl let out a laugh and pulled down that scarf covering her face. "Don't tell me you've already forgotten little me?" she said making sure that her voice is filled with the tone of disappointment.

"Of course not!" responded the boy getting flustered. "Sorry for scaring you?"

"You were awfully mean to us!" continued the girl acting hurt. "Scaring us with that mean broom! You were so evil!"

Harry was starting to turn red with shame. Astoria herself was busy fighting off the need to laugh. Cassandra on the other hand finally decided to speak up. "No, no, no!" her words came out in a quick burst. "You didn't scare us at all! Nothing done! We just gave you a clear path! I mean... it was for your security. Mr. Potter! It's great to talk to you! I... I... My name is Cassandra!" The girl suddenly went silent. She had no idea how to proceed.

"Hi!" I'm Harry Potter! Call me Harry!" answered the boy. The girl stiffened. She had no idea how to respond. She didn't even think the boy would waste his time on her.

Astoria was somewhat amused. Then an idea came to her to embarrass the two even more. "Harry, I have an idea! You could take us on a ride around the castle on that evil broom of yours!" Once again the blonde made sure to act the part of the innocent little girl. She was doing a great job at it and wondered if she'd be better off with starting an acting career.

What she didn't catch on quick enough was that she overdid her act a bit too much. Harry was also no longer a stranger to her teasing. This time around, he decided it was time to push back. He forced the expression of repentance onto his face at the same time also trying to keep the smirk that was threatening to form off of it. "I'm really sorry for what I did! I'd love to take you on a ride, but it will be an awful tight squeeze," he answered hoping that he was convincing enough.

He hoped his response would embarrass the girls. On Cassandra, it certainly worked. She almost fainted from the shock. Astoria was a different matter. After only a second she had an answer ready for him. "Two witches at the same time?" she teased. "You are an awful womanizer!"

"You were the one to ask for it!" answered the boy. Both lost the fight against their muscles were smiling at the other with mischief. The situation would have escalated further if it wasn't for Wood's call to continue the practice. "After quidditch practice, I'll take you for the ride." answered Harry taking off towards his teammates. The girl suddenly found herself blushing. She didn't understand why. It was just teasing, and it was just a ride on a stupid broom.

Harry launched towards his teammates with a sense of victory, he had beaten the blonde at her own game. However, as he was getting closer, something hit him. Astoria will most probably not take the defeat lying down. She will swim with the current and actually make him go through with the ride. The feeling of triumph was almost immediately replaced by embarrassment, and to his surprise, a form of expectation.

Another round of quidditch practice started up. Again the bludgers were let loose on the team. The black balls did their best to inflict even more damage on the players. With the fatigue from the previous round, they started to score more hits. Goals were scored. The twins were making things interesting by adding their own balls to the mix and the snitch was sought after. It took another hour for the boy to finally catch the elusive golden ball again. The sun had long ago disappeared under the horizon; the sky was only lit by a few stray rays that made it across, and the full moon that was already high up.

With the end of the Gryffindor practice, most spectators retreated into the castle for dinner. One after the other the players took off to the changing rooms, save for one. He strode over to the two last remaining spectators. He hoped Astoria would make a retreat. He knew it was a hope in vain. Now, he was much more self-conscious.

One of the girls was almost shaking with anticipation. To be taken on a broom flight with the "great" Potter. Conqueror of werewolves! She wanted to run, but also didn't want to pass up on the chance to spend time with History. Her green-eyed friend was much more relaxed. She couldn't explain how she could be so relaxed. at one point she even admitted, she was looking forward to it.

"Sorry for making you wait!" said the boy upon landing next to the two girls. Astoria threw a smug smirk at her. Her friend stared.

"It's about time you showed up!" remarked the blonde. She was smiling at him with one of her feline expressions.

Cassandra was out of her mind. "How can you be so calm!" she proclaimed. "It's not every day that Harry Potter takes you for a ride!"

Astoria just smirked. "The advantage of knowing the right people!" she teased. "Besides why should I be nervous to be riding a broom with someone who is already special to me?"

The buxom witch went silent; she almost fainted from the information that was put into her brain. Astoria almost choked on her need to laugh. Teasing her friend was the best possible therapy after her terrible start that day.

All this time Harry was oblivious to the conversation between the two girls. Turning a one-seater broom into one that could carry three people did need a considerable amount of concentration. He needed several attempts to conjure two more places to ride. When Astoria noticed the result she made a fake pout. "Oh... Harry why the separate seat?" she said in the most hurt tone possible. "The last time you let me ride on your lap!"

The boy stuttered unable to answer. The girl was having a field day. She was not sure what made her so bold. Even she was starting to feel that she was maybe to overdoing it. That feeling rang true especially when it was finally time to get on board of the broom. Her relaxed state became a thing of the past, as she was filled with something she had a hard time to describe. While normally she wouldn't have made much fuss over sharing a broom with anyone, now, she felt somewhat uneasy.

Harry chose the middle seat and motioned for her to take the one in the front. Her usual confident attitude went out the window. She felt downright shy as she sat down in the front seat and her back came into contact with his chest.

Finally, Cassandra too brought up the courage and occupied the seat in the back. She was more like a robot than a human being as she got seated. As for Harry? He was fighting hard against the sensory overload that was assaulting him. The feeling of not one, but two girls so close to him. Their feminine scents invading his nose. He had no idea how he ended up in this situation. He understood how one thing followed the other, but still... It all felt somewhat surreal. He had to admit, he enjoyed the feeling.

Once the three of them finally got comfortable, or at least as comfortable as they could get while fighting their senses and emotions, it was time to take off. "Take me to the sky my brave champion!" joked Astoria. Harry clearly felt Cassandra behind him stiffen. The way the raven girl pressed against his back almost made him lose control over his ride.

He decided to take off before Astoria managed to bring out something that would actually make him fall off. A soft kick on the ground was enough to take to the sky. He pulled the handle up and the broom to gain some altitude. The broom was a bit more sluggish than he was used to. The boy had no problem with that. There were two extra along for the ride this time around. He didn't want to scare his passengers by doing crazy moves like he did when he was alone, so he made sure to keep things nice and gentle. As they gained altitude he took a few laps around the castle keeping the speed moderate so he and his passengers could admire the many towers of Hogwarts.

It only took two laps for the trio to get used to their close proximity and relax a bit. The plethora of lights emitting from the windows of the castle made it a majestic view. It was like a beacon among the darkness that surrounded it. The awkward feeling was slowly diminishing. They were all genuinely enjoying the flight. In the distance, Harry could make out the lights of Hogsmeade and decided to be a bit more daring. He turned away from the castle and dove towards the black lake. As he dropped down towards the ground he sped up making the girl in the back shriek.

The usually dark currents were now bathing in the light of the moon, making them sparkle in a silver-like hue. Their feet were just above the surface as they raced above the still waters leaving ripples in their wake. The two girls pressed themselves to him, holding on tight. He had to admit, he really enjoyed that. He turned around and came back for another fly-by. Then he took off with the goal to make an illegal aerial visit to the wizarding village. As the three were passing by the edge of the forbidden forest he thought he heard something that sounded strangely like a meaty smack. Someone or something apparently crashed into a tree. The boy shook his head. There was no way someone would be out following them.

He added more speed and sped off towards the lights that marked the position of Hogsmeade. His passengers didn't protest. In fact, the girl in the back finally seemed to relax.


	7. Halloween Part 1

**The Snake Princess**

* * *

AN: Happy new year to all! Here's another chapter. Have fun! I decided to cut this chapter in half. Right about at the middle, since it would take another week or two to finish the rest. It is also starting to grow really large.

About Astoria's hobby. I'm not what you would call an expert on rhythmic gymnastics. I think it's a great way to add depth to her character so I made it her sport. I did pull a Lincoln and read up the basic facts, but that is nowhere enough to fully understand the sport. As far I get it, it's just like archery, easy to learn the basics but hard to master. So, if you happen to be good at gymnastics and my incompetence of the sport is great enough to annoy you... Sorry about that.

I still don't own anything of Rowling's Harry Potter world, neither do I get any money from this, so don't sue me!

* * *

**Chapter 7: Halloween**

* * *

Harry stumbled into the Gryffindor common with his ears still ringing. His face still pale from the near-death experience he just faced. The tightened his grip on the parchment in his hand. It was tied to the halberd that nearly cut him in half. It was a warning. One that promised death if he didn't heed it. The whole incident turned his otherwise great evening into an interesting one.

His eyes scanned the common room with the goal to find Hermione, maybe Ron. He had to discuss this with someone and possibly come to some sort of idea of how to proceed. He was not one to take a threat just like that. Before he had the chance to locate the elusive girl he was ambushed by two redheads. One of them; Fred he guessed; bore an ungodly bruise on his face. He all but fell on his knees in front of him and worshipped Harry like some god.

"Master!" he cried.

"Not one, but two witches!" added the second.

"At the same time!" the cried in union.

Harry just stood there dumbstruck at the whole situation. "I don't see the big deal... we just flew around the castle." he answered finding it hard to find the words. He felt somewhat awkward as the twins' performance put him into the limelight. He hated to be there.

His words, on the other hand, energised the duo even more. They were letting out wails and cries. "We are unworthy!" yelled both in an even more high pitched voice.

"Please!" came the cry from the one the Harry assumed to be Fred.

"Teach us!" followed George in quick succession.

"We beg you!"

"Enlighten us, commoners!"

"Bestow your wisdom on us!"

Harry was at a loss. He didn't have the faintest clue what the Weasleys wanted. The twins were once more playing their old game. Each adding their own word or two before the other one continued. He was even more baffled about what the two wanted to learn. He had nothing the two pranksters would or even could be interested in. Why were they like that? "What are you talking about?" he asked trying to not to sound like a confused mess. The twins carried on as if nothing has happened.

"Dearest brother! Are we that far behind?" asked George from his sibling.

The response was swift, almost immediate. "Is this even possible? My best companion in crime!"

"Our magnificent skills at getting at the ladies!" yelled the two. "They don't even register on his scale!"

As the twins seemingly descended further into chaos and anarchy, Harry was seriously thinking of leaving the two to their antics. He had no idea what they were wailing on about. "Seriously what are you talking about?" asked the confused boy.

"How did you do it little bro?" asked George. At least Harry guessed it was George.

"Not one witch! But two! You hear me fellow Gryffindors! Two!"

"Wooed from the Slytherin, none the less!"

All eyes were now on them. Harry finally fed up. "There was no date!" he barked at the twins, feeling embarrassed. He admitted that it was a memory he would cherish, but there was nothing romantic between the three of them. Sure he liked the way Astoria pressed against his chest, and the scent of her hair made it hard for him to keep his focus on flying, but there was nothing going on. The same way Cassandra pressing against his back was also nice. He had to admit, the girl was simply too well developed for her own good.

"Besides it was just a broom ride!" continued the boy. "Though, we did break a few rules... We left the castle grounds." he added to himself. He also admitted to himself flying to Hogsmeade, and scaring some of the locals by swooping across the streets was stupid. He had no idea what made him do that.

The girls seemed to enjoy the little stunt greatly. So did he. A date however... No flowers, no fancy restaurant, no cinema, no evening walk, and no talking about ridiculous things. At least as Harry was concerned a date needed some of those things to be called one. "There was no date!" he repeated again to hammer his point home. "Astoria asked me to take them for a ride and I had no problem with it. I admit it was nice. But that's about it!"

If possible the desperation of the twins increased. The wailing returned. Now the other members of the house were only annoyed. Harry decided it was time to ignore the two. There was no use talking to them. He was starting to have the suspicion that they were playing him. He finally spotted Hermione as she exited the stairs leading to the girls' sleeping accommodations and took this as his cue to leave the twins to their own devices. He never noticed the grins that formed on the duo's faces. Or the high five they shared.

"What was up with all that screaming?" asked Hermione eyeing the twins as they were doing their little celebration.

"I think they just finished pranking me!" answered Harry shrugging. "Hermione, we need to talk!" he said becoming serious.

"What is it Harry?" asked the girl. She knew the boy well. He only used that particular tone when something bad happened. One thing was sure the little performance made by the twins was not the cause. Harry didn't speak. Instead, he simply handed her a small wrinkled parchment. She took it and opened to read the short message scribbled on it.

* * *

_Filthy half-blood! If you want to live do not touch what is mine!_

* * *

She looked back up at him. There was no need for her to speak the words.

"I found it on a halberd!" continued the boy answering the silent question. "It almost fell on me. I doubt it was an accident. The thing embedded itself in the stone just in front of me! It made a hell off a noise and almost made me have an accident! It was also heavy as hell!"

Hermione gave a small nod as she re-read the small note. The letters were immaculate. The message clear. "Who is it from?" she asked.

"I have no idea!" answered Harry.

"Did you do anything out of the ordinary lately?"

"Not that I can think of." he answered truthfully. "Practicing quidditch, scrubbing cauldrons every Saturday, studying more than it is healthy..." Hermione gave him one of those looks. "... the usual things."

"You must have done something! This is no ordinary warning! We have to tell a teacher!" responded the girl already turning towards the porthole. When she spoke those words the parchment ignited. She yelped in panic and released the note. Before either of the two had the slightest chance to do anything the parchment flared up and burned to ashes. All it took was a second. They didn't even have time to pull out their wands.

The two looked into each other's eyes. Both were somewhat surprised. Apparently the note was rigged to self-destruct at the mention of being revealed. "So much for that idea!" remarked Harry. "No way Professor McGonagall would believe us without some kind of proof."

"The Halberd dummy!" answered the witch already heading for the hallway. "You said, it's stuck in the floor! If we can show it to Professor McGonagall she will investigate. Maybe she'll be able to find a clue!"

"Where are you two going?" asked a third voice. Hermione and Harry whirled around to see Ron who was eyeing them suspiciously. "You are about to do something stupid, aren't you?" asked the Weasley boy. "I bet it's because of your new cold-blooded friend!"

"We have no time for arguing! And she has a name!" growled Harry.

"Don't be stupid! The whole house thing is just for school!" added the girl next to him.

Ron cast a critical eye at the two. "You are about to get into trouble again! There's no way I'll let you do it alone! I may be angry at you, but you are still my best friends!"

Harry relaxed at those words. They meant so much to him. Ron grinned at him in a confident manner, he returned it. It was good to know that they were standing. They may have their differences, but they were still friends.

"I really hate to interrupt this moment of kinship, but we need to move!" interrupted the third member of the trio. "If the parchment was set to self destruct the crook may have set up things to remove any other evidence too." Her words made the boys act and all three charged out of the common room.

The trio rushed across the corridors with Harry in the lead heading back towards the quidditch tower. He knew well where he was headed since it was a route he travelled often thanks to the frequent and at times crazy practices.

One hallway followed the other in quick succession. After another turn, Harry came to a sudden stop at the entrance of the corridor. To hallway was completely different from the way he left it. There was no sign of the incident that happened not even half an hour before. The halberd that was previously wedged into the stone floor stood in its place in complete innocence. "That should have been impossible! That thing was as stuck as it could be!" exclaimed the boy.

His two friends were just behind him also looking for any signs of the earlier incident. There were none. "Are you sure you didn't get lost?" asked Ron.

"No chance for that!" responded the other boy. "It was this corridor!"

"Well there certainly is nothing out of the ordinary here!" came the counter from the redhead. The boys glanced at each other then back at the corridor that had no apparent damage to its surface completely contradicting what was previously told by Harry.

Hermione walked down examining the stone statues adorning the hallway one by one. She knew about Harry's habit of exploring the castle. She also knew how much he travelled along these corridors. If he said this was the place, then this was the place. She was meticulous but there was nothing really standing out. There were a few signs of wear and tear on one halberd. The surface was glistening. Fresh, clean metal was exposed as the thin layer of oxidization was chipped away by an impact. That was the most she could find. There were at least a dozen other things that could have caused that.

"Harry, which one was it?" she asked.

"The fourth!" answered the boy.

She nodded. Her guess was right. But a chipped blade in a castle was not something that would raise any suspicion. Nobody would believe their story. "All we have then is the message on that parchment." remarked the girl.

"All we had!" corrected Harry as he too examined the statue. The girl nodded silently.

"So what was on it?" asked Ron.

The other two turned their gaze towards the Weasley boy. "It said: If you want to live do not touch what is mine!" answered Harry. "I don't remember any new artefact or the like I supposedly messed with." he added shaking his head.

Ron scratched his head looking at the statue. Then he directed his gaze to the slightly damaged blade it was holding. He was too trying to make sense of the whole incident. He retreated into deep thought. For once he decided not to accuse the obvious from the beginning no matter how much he'd like to do that.

Unlike him, Hermione became much more vocal. "Are you sure? You didn't handle anything you shouldn't have?" she asked. "You've got a history!"

Harry shook his head. He made extra sure to comb through his memories. He came up with a blank. He once more glanced up at the statue that brought him into this situation, as if asking it for help. Its face, if it could be called that, was an imitation of some medieval helmet. He gazed at the armoured stone form that made up its body. All the while there was one question "Why would someone use this thing to give him a warning?" he asked. He was sure if it was Sirius Black he would have used the chance to end him instead of a good scare. No doubt there! Then, there was the problem of getting into the castle. It was supposed to be a hard thing to do.

He soon admitted to himself. If the man could get out of Azkaban getting into Hogwarts was probably also within his abilities. Then again, why didn't he kill him outright? He had a great chance there. The man was already a murderer one or more death to him would not make any difference. There was nobody else who had any reason to make such a trap. Draco maybe, but even the blond Slytherin would refrain from going this far. There were many things the boy would do to mess with Harry, but never something that could endanger his graduation at the school. Committing murder was more than enough to be throw from the school.

"It's that little Slytherin witch!" came the sudden declaration from Ron.

Harry and Hermione turned towards the boy. "What do you mean?" asked the girl

"Here we go again!" called out Harry. He was tired of that routine.

"Isn't this obvious?" asked Ronald. "I told you! Interacting with Slytherins will get you trouble!"

"Can you give it up already?" asked Harry.

"It's that Slytherin witch, Astoria, or her friend!" came the repeated answer from Ron. "My brothers were quite loud about the ride you took them on. I told you'll get you into trouble!"

"Get your head out of the gutter!" countered Harry shutting that line of argument down.

Hermione nodded at his words. "He's right Ron! You are taking this house thing too seriously! She is an eleven-year-old girl! Why would anyone go at Harry because of her?"

"Her crazy older sister?" declared the redhead.

"No, this was not her style! She would hex me in the face!" answered Harry.

"There could be some deal she's part of." responded Ron. "I tell you, Harry! You don't want to get caught up in their business. You better steer clear of her!"

Hermione glanced at the boys. "You think she could get us into trouble?" she asked.

The redhead looked at her with a serious expression. "With our track record, I have no doubt where we'll end up! I still remember those spiders from last year! Can't we, I don't know... not get involved?" He looked at his friends with hope in his eyes. They were staring back at him. He groaned. "Here we go again!" he mumbled. "This time with criminals and extra dark magic to boot!"

* * *

The beats of modern music were echoing between the ancient walls of the unused classroom. They felt out of place in the old castle. Daphne was annoyed. She wished she could just make it end. The fast-paced nature of the tunes felt like torture. Each thump of the drum, like a slap. "I seriously can't understand how you can tolerate this racket!" she declared raising her hands in the air as if praying for relief. She gave up on finishing her homework long ago. There was no way she could do that with the noise she was surrounded with.

"It isn't that bad!" responded Astoria while going through her routine, her movements following the rhythm, her ribbon dancing around her. "I think it's optimistic and lively!" she continued.

With a well-practised and sharp move, she brought the fabric out of its spin thus creating the opening that she needed to continue her routine. She opened with a handspring to build up momentum then her movements flowed into a series of somersaults and tumbles. All the while, making the ribbon dance in the air, creating a mesmerising mixture of colours and movement.

"It's poison to the ear!" responded the older sister trying to cover her ears and block out the music. She tried once more to focus on her homework, but it was not much of a success.

The younger one held back the chuckle and focused on her movements. She finally reached the end of the room where she ended the choreography in a salute, and a broad smile plastered on her face. The ribbon she was using soon lost its lift, its fight with gravity, and fell on her now still body. A touch of magic made it land just the way she wanted it, to make it look nice and neat. The music reached its end just as the fabric finally settled down. It was just the way she wanted to end her performance.

Astoria was satisfied, she smiled despite being out of breath. Daphne sighed in relief. "I don't know how you can tolerate it. It's murder to listen to it." she grumbled.

"Says the one who spends time forking faeces in a stable." countered Astoria.

Daphne glared at her younger sibling but decided to keep her dignity and not fight over such a small thing. "Anyway," she began with a tired tone. "I wrote to Mother about our little morning mail. She told us to be careful and never to be alone if possible."

The younger girl nodded. "Better safe than sorry!" she remarked. "Does this mean I can torture you every day with my music?" her tone was just a tad too enthusiastic. As if on a cue the first notes of the next track started to stream from the machine that was converted to run on magic instead of electricity.

Daphne again forced down the urge to blow it up. The thing cost a small fortune and she didn't want to get any flack for destroying it. "You and your muggle sport!" she mumbled.

Astoria smirked upon hearing the words. Annoying her sister was still one of her favourite pastimes. "Did she have any guess who it could be?" she asked while folding her ribbon.

"Mother's guess is as good as mine!" responded Daphne cringing as the music started to pick up the pace. "We have a fair share of enemies and many more would just come after us for the money."

"I think the guy that wrote those letters has a genuine grudge. He has to be some enemy!"

"Or he's insane... Take a pick little sis!"

"Couldn't we try to talk it out? I'm sure we could find some common ground!"

Daphne looked at the younger girl with sceptic eyes. "Would you like to marry this creep or should I?" she responded. "Because, judging by those letters, that would be the only thing that he would agree to and I doubt we'd have much of a voice in our new family."

Astoria frowned at the answer. "If I'd ever agree to that please shoot me!"

"Will do!" countered Daphne. "Talking about wedding! Will I need to get a new dress? I heard you got awfully close to that Potter boy!" the blue-eyed Greengrass smirked as her sister stiffened.

"It was just a ride around the castle." came the defence.

"Sure it was!" Daphne let out a short chuckle. "So who are you going to be rooting for at tomorrow's quidditch match? Our team or your boyfriend's?"

"There's nothing like that between us!"

"Sure there isn't!" Daphne was delighted. The payback felt sweet. It felt even sweeter when she saw her sister fumble the easiest part of her exercise.

* * *

The next morning Astoria was indeed facing a problem. On one end she hated the game called quidditch and under any other circumstance, she would have stayed in the castle. That, however, was not an option. The castle would be almost completely empty. A grand opportunity for the crazed admirer she and her sister had acquired. This meant going to the game. If he found a way into the castle things could turn ugly.

Second problem was that there was only a single person among all the players she knew and would, could root for. This meant, she, as a Slytherin, was standing among a crowd of Gryffindors bearing the green markings of her house. At a Gryffindor-Slytherin match... To say, it was an interesting situation to be in, was an understatement.

Quite a few Gryffindors were giving her a stare making her feel most uncomfortable. There were no remarks partially thanks to her older sister, who was giving anybody who even attempted to talk to her a death glare. It was awkward enough without the questions.

The booming voice of Lee Johnson finally announced the teams directing the attention away from the two girls. Astoria was relieved. The two teams swarmed into the pitch as a clear sign of things finally starting to move. Any sign of hostility or bad mood immediately evaporated as the crowd on the stands erupted. The stadium was filled with the sounds of cheering, it was almost deafening.

Harry was happy to be out in the field. Here he was king. He was confident about this day. This Halloween, things will go well. The Gryffindor team was stronger than ever and ready to roast the snakes. Then they will party all night! He was also free to do some payback on Draco who was directing a smirk at him. He was determined to wipe that smirk off the Slytherin boy's face.

"Are you ready to lose Potter?" called out the Malfoy boy.

"Ready to be knocked down a few pegs?" countered Harry in a similar fashion. The boys stared into each other's eyes promising a brutal aerial fight.

The other members of the teams assembled. They too stared at their intended opponents ready to do anything they can to take the win home. The hostility between the two houses was all too obvious to see for everyone. The referee, Madam Hooch, raised her whistle to her lips. The team-members got on their brooms. Their muscles tightened. The only thing in their mind was the opening strategy that was discussed just a few minutes ago in the changing rooms.

The sharp sound of the whistle filled the arena and the teams took off. The teams burst into sudden frantic activity from their previous idle positions. After a short few seconds, the quaffle was in Gryffindor hands. The training with live bludgers seemed to pay off as the chasers dodged the Slytherin beaters' attempts to hit them with the iron balls. The three chasers were passing the ball all over the pitch completely outplaying their counterparts. Not even a minute passed before the keeper was sufficiently confused by the manoeuvres and one of the Gryffindor players went for the kill.

One end of the stadium erupted with a roar of applause and cheers as the first score was officially declared. "Isn't she Angelic!" boomed Lee Jordan's voice from the commentator's stand.

"Lee! Focus on the game!" echoed McGonagall's voice also filling the field.

"I am ma'am!" was the lousy defence.

The game went on. It was heavily one-sided at first with the Gryffindors scoring again and again. Soon the Slytherin team had enough of playing nice and they started to play dirty and the odds started to even out. Fouls were frequent, and painful, as the game started to become ugly.

Up above the battle that was waged a different kind of combat was taking place. Draco and Harry were doing their best to interfere with their counterpart while looking for the sought after golden snitch. Smaller bumps were the order of the day as they chased each other around the stands. Trying to get into the other's was and fighting for a better view. Also trying to hinder their opponent.

A sudden thought came to Draco as they were approaching one of the towers at full speed. He wanted his opponent out for the rest of the game. He slammed once more into Harry and kept on pushing, forcing him to change his intended course. Harry noticed the blonde's plan. Slamming into the tower standing above the stands at full speed was the last thing he wanted to do. He tried to gain altitude, to fly over the Slytherin seeker to avoid the collision. Draco mirrored his move, going with his opponent, keeping him on course towards the tower. He smirked at Harry, a dark grin, that told that he genuinely wished ti hurt his Gryffindor counterpart.

The distance was disappeared quickly as the two were racing along each other, and the wooden construct was in the face of the two seekers. With a last powerful shunt, Draco made sure that Harry was still headed towards the face of the tower and turned away to avoid hitting the wall himself. Harry did his best to slow down and avoid the painful contact, but even so, he smacked into the side of the wooden spire. The impact was hard and he fell from his broom. Draco missed a similar fate my mere inches.

The commentator was screaming bloody murder as the young Gryffindor landed roughly among a group of Hufflepuff spectators. He was groaning at the pain radiating from his back and left shoulder. He was seeing stars because of a violent impact. At least he managed to minimise the damage and avoid flying into the pillar head-first. Even so, it was not much of a compensation. Any lesser skilled broom-pilot would have flown directly into the wooden structure and ended up at St. Mungo's. He glared at his opponent, who laughed at him as he flew by.

Harry saw red. "So you want to play rough!" he said in a low growl.

On the stands, Astoria moved into the first row. She was screaming at the top of her lungs for Harry to get Draco and for the rest of the team to wipe the floor with the Slytherins. Several Gryffindors were now openly staring at her giving her a wide berth. Though the unspoken hostility from before disappeared. Instead several of the close-by onlookers were fearful if it was some kind of rare disease that took hold of the little Slytherin girl.

The penalty throw for Draco's foul was scored putting the scores to 60 to 70 in favour of the gold-red team. The Slytherin side didn't seem to be too concerned about it. As far as they were concerned Draco taking out the Gryffindor seeker was considered a valid idea.

The game was on again. Lee Jordan kept on throwing in compliments peeving McGonagall even further. To Harry, it was somewhat amusing. He also finished hatching his plan. He took to the air looking for one of the twins. He smirked when he saw that Draco now seemed to direct all his attention towards finding the snitch. The blonde was in full belief that he took out his opponent for the rest of the game.

"Hey Fred!" he called out to one of the two.

"Wrong twin!" answered the redhead while redirecting the bludger. The ball that was originally heading for Wood, now it was flying towards on the opponents' chasers. It scored a hit. The Weasley smirked.

"Sorry, George!"

"It's okay! By the way, I'm Fred!"

Harry was not in the mood for one of the standard Weasley clowning rounds. "I want you to put a bludger on me!" he called out over the noise made by the crowd

Now it was the beater's time to act surprised. "Why would I? That thing is dangerous!"

"Because I want to have an angry bludger on my tail!" answered Harry. "Can you make it happen?"

"Don't say I didn't warn you!" responded the Weasley. He was taken aback by the odd request, but he reasoned if the boy was asking for him, to do it he must have something in the hatching. "By the way, I lied! I'm George!"

The seeker took off, no longer really caring about the identity of his teammate. A few seconds later he heard the familiar sound of a bat hitting one of the iron balls and he could soon hear the bludger coming his way. He leaned onto his broom and pressed the magical tool to its limits going as fast as he could. He charged out of the arena and made a wide lazy circle around the pitch. The bludger tried to hit him, but it only managed to keep the pace with its target.

Harry looked back at the ball chasing him. "Come on you dumb lump of metal! I bet you can't hit me!" he said then slowed down just a bit. The bludger was right behind his broom doing its best to hit him. Harry even made small weaving motions in the hope of antagonising the magical ball even further. "What is it, slowpoke? Is this the best you can do?" he called out at the ball.

To his surprise, the strange noise coming from the bludger seemed to increase in volume. Harry smirked. Then he made a quick search for Draco.

The Slytherin seeker was high above the other players casually searching for his intended target. With Harry injured he could almost taste the victory. Potter even left the stadium, abandoning his team. The idea of his opponent crying in some corner of the castle and then getting thrown out of the team for ditching his friends was a nice thought. It would also serve as nice gloating material for later on.

Then from the corner of his eye, he spotted something, something that was approaching him fast. He looked towards it. It was Potter. Grinning like a madman completely leaned onto his broom for maximum speed. He was heading right at him. "He would never do that!" screamed Draco's mind at him while the boy stared at the incoming Gryffindor like a deer caught in the headlights.

The edges of Harry's mouth were almost at his ears. The air was rumbling around his ears deafening him to all that was around him. The only thing he was sure that the bludger was right on his tail. The form of Draco was getting closer and closer. As the Slytherin boy finally noticed the incoming threat he froze completely. If it was possible Harry's grin widened, threatening to break his face in half. He was swooping in like a missile and he was locked on target.

At the last possible moment, he initiated a barrel roll. Draco was staring with his mouth open as Harry passed by just under him. He just caught a glimpse of the Gryffindor's victorious smirk before his world was filled by pain. The bludger got Draco in the shoulder the sound of the impact could be heard all over the arena. It was further amplified by the scream of pain not even a second later.

The Slytherin seeker was like a jet that took a rocket into the exhaust. He was losing altitude fast and tumbled towards the ground in a mess. With his uninjured hand, he managed to regain some resemblance of control just before his feet skimmed the grass of the pitch. It was only enough to lessen the impact. The front of the broom impaled itself into the ground sending Draco over the handle. It was Madame Pomfrey's magic that brought the downed Malfoy to a stop before he could land on his back and possibly get even more hurt.

"You reap what you sow!" remarked Harry from his vantage point, high above as he observed the carnage below. Apparently the handle of Draco's broom snapped in half. That thing won't fly ever again! The boy below was clutching his clearly broken arm and the medical-witch was rushing to his side to give first aid. At the other end of the pitch, the bludger he used to execute his move was going around in small circles seemingly satisfied with itself.

The game went on. The loss of their seeker caused confusion among the snakes and the opportunity was exploited without hesitation. One end of the crowd once more cheered while the other was busy demanding retribution. Since there were no rules broken none ever came.

Astoria was screaming with the crowd finally understanding why people really came to watch quidditch. She and other two first years were jumping around the place, hugging each other. Daphne just smirked at all of this. She refused to let go of her emotions any more than that.

Harry pulled up in a casual manner and started to look once more for his target while setting out on a lazy circle around the field. What he didn't know at the moment that a few months later the international organization controlling professional quidditch games will have a meeting adding a new rule to the already long list of quidditch fouls. They didn't want a repetition of his insane stunt. From that meeting on, there was a new foul in the rulebook. It will end up being called a "potter".


	8. Halloween Part 2

**The Snake Princess**

* * *

AN: Yo! It has been quite some time since my last post. I admit that the long times between the chapters must be annoying. Actually I'm annoyed not being able to advance at a pace I would like. Life really. Things happen that need my attention.

The infrequent updates are somewhat good for the quality of the little fanfic. There is time to think about how to spin things. The current product is in no way close to the original animal I had in mind. At first, the idea was for a bad guy wanting to kill off the Greengrass sisters. Astoria's combat snake, one of the reasons for the title, got completely taken out for example, and there are other artefacts that would be really hard to just pull out. So, yeah, things kinda changed, but aside from some small things I'm happy with the result.

One thing I have problems with is people moaning about the fact that Harry seems to be weak. Didn't these guys read the books? The character of Harry would only go all out when he thought there was no other way to solve a problem. Even then, he worked together with friends and he rarely went up against teachers in an open manner. In a broad sense, the seven books are a classic example of the hero's journey. In the beginning, he was just a timid – and severely abused - boy, who later on grew up to be a true leader. It's several degrees of annoying when you have to put up with people who have no concept of what a dynamic character is. Okay, this turned out as a rant, but I had to put it out of my system.

Have fun reading! If you have any suggestions or comments you know where to reach me. Laterz!

I still don't own anything of Rowling's Harry Potter world, neither do I get any money from this, so don't sue me!

* * *

**Chapter 8: Halloween Part 2**

* * *

McGonagall was fighting off the headache that was slowly starting to make its presence known. She forced her expression into its standard stoic form and looked into the eyes of the out-of-breath prefect standing at the door. "Could you please repeat what you just said?" she asked hoping she misunderstood something.

The sudden appearance of a wild dementor on school grounds transformed the previously great game into a disaster. It was only through plain and simple luck that no further injuries have occurred in the minor stampede among students who were trying to get to safety. To make things perfect the creature took down Harry in one fell swoop. She almost succumbed to a heart attack at that sight. The spell she launched at the falling boy was the thing that saved him from a deadly impact on the grass below. Then things became a blur. The race down to the pitch at speeds she thought she no longer possessed. The way she plucked the boy from the air before he got to the end of his descend. She was a shock. All that mattered was that everybody was safe.

In the end, Madam Hooch decided to schedule a rematch for the safety of both the players and the fans. A game that was previously an easy Gryffindor win was null and void. Not the best of news for someone who was an avid Gryffindor fan. Not that she cared about it at that point. The day already turned pear-shaped and a null and void quidditch game was the last of the grey-haired professor's worries.

The memory of her rushing across the castle with the two casualties and two of Harry's friends was still fresh in her mind. Then, of course, there were the other two tag-alongs. The Greengrass sisters. That was somewhat new. She didn't know how, but the Potter boy and the younger blonde seemed to have gotten well acquainted at some point during the previous month. The results were plainly visible, Astoria was worried sick about Harry's condition. The older one, by all appearances, was more interested in arguing with the Weasley boy, who was quite aggressively trying to make the girls leave. It was starting to get annoying. The infirmary was meant to be a refuge of peace and healing. Now was filled by the sounds of their fight.

The prefect crashed into the whole mess mere seconds before the deputy headmistress could unleash her wrath on the quarrelling teens. The brunette Gryffindor's words were fast, some of it the old professor couldn't catch. What she could understand sounded concerning, to say the least. The name Sirius was especially concerning.

The female prefect was busy trying to catch her breath. She was still wheezing after finishing her mad dash across the castle. Upon hearing heaving the teacher's request she took a couple of breaths and repeated her previous words "Professor, someone tried to break into the Gryffindor common room. When the Fat Lady didn't let him in he tore up her painting in his anger. Some neighbours of her told us that it was Sirius Black."

The aged witch did her best to keep a neutral expression. "And?" she asked knowing well that there was a snippet left.

"Longbottom seems to have lost his wand." finished the girl finally starting to get her breathing under control. The old witch held back the groan that almost made it to the surface. She stood still for a few seconds weighing her options. Then turned to Madam Pomfrey, who was busy collecting the potions she needed to put Draco on the path of healing.

"Poppy can you keep things in line here?" she asked.

The healer nodded. "I'm sure they won't be much of a problem Minerva," she answered never moving her eyes from the cupboard containing various potions. Barely did she finish those words the professor rushed out the door towards her next destination. The prefect delivering the news was right behind her, trying to keep up with the pace the old professor had set.

As the two left the tension in the infirmary skyrocketed. With McGonagall no longer present to keep the peace Ron immediately tried to peel Astoria away from Harry's bed. That didn't sit well with Daphne. While she could keep from getting physical in an argument him touching her sister was like a red cloth to an angry bull. The argument escalated. Any warnings spoken by the healer were disregarded or downright ignored even. The well-meaning witch that ran the infirmary was getting more and more ticked off.

Even Astoria and Hermione tried to settle the parties down. It was no use! Ron kept on accusations of brainwashing Harry for some unknown reason. At the same time, Daphne demanded him to back up and keep to himself. The volume increased even more to the level of yelling. Finally, the medical-witch snapped.

"Quiet!" she ordered. Her voice was strong a clear warning that she finally had enough of the bickering students. "We've got patients in here! You can either stop your nonsense or argue somewhere else!"

"I'm going to get you for this Potter!" moaned Malfoy. "When my father hears of this he'll have your hide!" He was delirious from all the painkillers that were already fed to him. Not that they helped much. His upper arm was more like a bloody mess of bone fragments and bruises than an actual appendage.

The fight subsided. For a few short seconds. Then the troublemakers resumed. Madame Pomfrey's eyes took on a dangerous glint. The combatants, however, didn't seem to notice. "Out!" she ordered completely fed up with the situation. "Out! Now!"

"I'm only keeping that snake away from my friend! Who knows what she wants with him!" protested Ron.

"Because you dimwit just can't leave my sister alone!" countered Daphne contemplating if making the boy's tongue vanish would be a good solution to the problem at hand. Both of them were getting louder again.

The medical witch finally looked at the two her usual calm and collected demeanour was fully gone. "You will stay in the corridor! We could use a lookout anyway!" she declared. Her gaze was stern; she wanted the two out of the room. She would have told them to go much further, preferably miles away, if it wasn't for the recent news about an escaped convict roaming the castle. The teens didn't care and started to protest once more. The healer finally had enough. If they weren't leaving on their own devices she will make them. She raised her wand and cast a silent spell at the two. She used the oldest piece of magic known to all wizards. The students could both feel some the magic taking hold of them, lifting their bodies a few inches above the ground. With their feet dangling in the air force they started to drift in the direction of the huge wooden doors marking the exit. The tried to resist any was they could, but would only drag chairs and beds along for a short distance before recognising that it was useless.

Any further protests fell on deaf ears as both were levitated out of the room while struggling against the magic. "I don't want a peep from you unless Black is breathing down on your neck!" informed the healer. Her voice was harsh, laced with and unsaid warning. When they were finally out the door, she made a flick with her wand and the door slammed shut with a loud bang several clicks coming from the lock signalled that the mechanism was now closed. Only when silence took over did the magic let go of the quarrelling students finally letting go of them. After getting rid of the squabbling pair Madam Pomfrey directed her gaze towards Hermione and Astoria. No words were said. The message was clear Both witches moved to Harry's bed taking up residence on chairs at opposite sides. The previous little demonstration was more than enough to show that she was in no mood for any nonsense. They didn't want to risk arousing their host's ire.

Just outside, the mood was somewhat chilly. "Thanks, Weasley!" growled Daphne angrily. She tried to open the door to the infirmary. The handle didn't budge one bit. She wasn't surprised by that at all, but she had to try. She directed a glare at Ron doing her best to make and attempt at boiling him away with her stare. It didn't work but it was a nice fantasy to ease her raging emotions. There was no use to continue their fight. She was stuck on the wrong end of the door and there was not much he could do about it.

"Says the one who was screaming like a banshee." sneered Ron at her. He loathed to be out here while his best mate was in there. Alone with one of the snakes. He had a severe dislike for both girls. They were for one, filthy rich and knew next to nothing about want or need. It was already something that was enough to irk him. What really pissed him off, however, was the origin of the aforementioned wealth. Living on money made by crime was the most disgusting thing he could imagine. It infuriated him beyond belief that they were getting away with it. Even so, he decided that fighting the girl was just not worth it. He too needed to get inside only for different reasons. He had to get the younger one off his best mate.

The heated battle from before ended up postponed. The combatants suddenly found themselves without a reason to fight and with the same goal, even if the reasons were different it made them allies for now. Daphne used the newfound peace to take inventory of the situation. Upon a closer and calmer inspection It was not as bad as she feared.

The crazy Back roaming across the castle was bad of course. How he managed to break into the school was a mystery. It was supposed to be one of, if not THE most secure place in the country. Sneaking in a magical letter, while highly unlikely, was still a possibility, but an actual person getting passed the defences was downright alarming. It wasn't supposed to happen. She came to the conclusion that the somewhat impolite wedding proposals were probably also sent by him. The only thing that didn't make sense was the fact that her family never had any real dealings with the Blacks. Sure they had enemies dozens in fact. But the old pureblood family was definitely not one of them.

This opened perspectives that were even more worrying. The only logical answer was that the man had to be completely insane and most probably in his delusion made up some imaginary tale about them committing some form of injustice on him. And now he wanted revenge for said imaginary injustice. The whole concept was frighteningly plausible and with the funds behind the Black family all too much a valid possibility. She found the situations it absolutely joyous. And not in a good way. By the looks of things, Azkaban turned him into an utter nutter, even if he wasn't one beforehand. And this utter nutter wanted them as his wives and playthings. She resisted the urge to bury her face in her palm. It would have been a most unladylike action. The only good in the entire disaster was that Astoria was safe. Black would have to go through her and the healer inside.

While Daphne was busy with her assessment Ron moved closer to the door, inspecting the lock. "It's keyed to our magic." he remarked in a low voice, to himself rather to her. "It's warded against an alohomra and won't open for us unless we are in some sort of a distress."

Daphne was almost impressed. "You are not as stupid as you seem to be after-all!" she remarked earning a glare from the boy. Even so, the information she received was not worth much. Sure, in the right circumstances they could get in. That in itself was good They may be even able to simulate those circumstances. But if they managed to gain entrance, going back inside without a good reason would be a next to worthless act. Pomfrey would just throw them back out. Fighting against staff was a definite no, no. All they would manage to achieve by it was an expulsion. This meant they were stuck in the hallway for now.

Just as the girl resigned herself to be used as a lookout, something peculiar floated into her field of view. It was a china-doll. One that spoke of fine craftsmanship and taste. One that was almost like the one she had at home. The one she had played a lot with when she was younger. The one she would never admit owning. Floating in the air! Those things were not supposed to be able to do that! Especially without magic involved. It was making erratic movements. Zipping from one spot to another, then it hovered for a few seconds before repeating the process. As if it was taunting them.

Ron turned from the door he was investigating. His face brightened. "Must be the snitch from the game!" he declared, reaching for it.

All blood drained from the girl's face. "Don't!" she called out lunging forward. "That's not..." It was this point where the boy's fingers grasped around the object. A burst of blinding light erupted from it engulfing both of them. There was no sound, no explosion. Only a bright yellow glow which made it impossible for the two of them to see anything. Just as quickly as the light came it receded back into its point of origin. Once the glow subsided it left behind a small stone. It floated in the air for a few seconds before it fell to the ground as if it were just another ordinary one. It bounced around before coming to a rest in front of the entrance of the infirmary. The two youths who were standing the just before had vanished.

* * *

Inside Hermione and Astoria were still sitting on the chairs they previously they had occupied. They felt somewhat embarrassed just sitting there trying desperately not to stare at the other. Madame Pomfrey was busy feeding Draco the last bits of his potions. The boy kept on calling out threat after threat between each vial. Accusing Harry of using unfair quidditch moves. It was somewhat amusing since only a few minutes before being shot down, he tried to use similar methods to take out the Gryffindor sleeping peacefully on the bed between the girls.

"Potter, you rat bastard!" he called out just as the vial left his mouth. He would have continued if the healer didn't press the next one into his mouth. The girls were snickered.

Minutes passed with nothing more than Draco's cursing to hear. Just sitting there was suffocating and uncomfortable beyond belief. The chairs they were on didn't make thing better. They were hellishly uncomfortable. Hermione squirmed around trying to find a suitable position but failed badly Astoria opted to ride it out, but she had her doubts about actually being able to manage.

Their keeper finally finished drugging Draco and retreated to a chair facing the door with her wand at the ready. She wanted to make sure to be ready for anything should the worst happen and the two lookouts burst into the room with unwelcome company. The Malfoy boy was finally silenced by the sleeping drought. It was a good thing. His constant threats were starting to get old. Even so, the mood was heavy, almost to the point of being unbearable. The silence that suddenly prevailed all somehow even made it worse. Like the calm before a storm.

"This is getting ridiculous!" called out Astoria with an annoyed voice.

Hermione looked at the younger girl with wide eyes. To say that the sudden declaration surprised her is an understatement. The complete stillness from previously enhanced the effect of the sudden outburst even more. The girls' lips curled up into a smile. Seconds later both witches lost their battle against laughter.

"We did act kind of dumb!" agreed the brunette. The girls chuckled again. The eerie mood from earlier was gone in a flash as they shook hands. The Tension had completely vanished. "Hermione Granger!" came the first formal introduction.

"Astoria Greengrass!" was the short answer. "Harry told me a lot about you!"

"You don't say? What secrets did my trouble-magnet of a housemate share with you?"

The girls smiled at each other and the exchange continued turning more friendly. It didn't take a long time before they started to sink into the swamp that was Hogwarts gossip.

* * *

"...a snitch." finished Daphne ready to strangle Ron Weasley. It was just a flash. It lasted a mere moment, but the results were alarming. What became clear immediately was that they were no longer at Hogwarts. All around her there were open grass fields that seemed to stretch out into the far distance where they met up with some faraway mountains that rose just above the horizon. There were no signs of civilization as far as the eye could see. Only some crumbling ruins. The remains of some ancient construct, aged walls that have been left to rot away. Toppled pillars, of which, some were left standing, sticking out from among the overgrown foliage that once made up the surrounding garden.

A cool gust of wind combed into her hair making her shiver. It was strange. She hasn't shivered from the wind in ages. There was an ominous feel to the whole situation. Everything but the ruins looked artificial. She looked at the boy standing next to her and resisted the urge to strangle him. "Thanks again, Weasley! You idiot!" she spat.

"How was I supposed to know?" defended the boy, annoyed at the way he was berated.

"Haven't you learned a thing in defence class? With Black in the castle, you should have expected the worst at every corner!"

"You could have warned me!" responded the boy.

"I did!" countered Daphne. "We are in so much shit I don't even know where to begin!"

"Well, why don't you just get started then? You apparently know a lot more than I do!" responded Ron. His expression told entire tales of his agitation. Their situation suddenly became much worse. He didn't notice Daphne clench her fingers into a fist and relax them again trying desperately to control her emotions.

The girl let out a sharp breath. "All right! But I warn you! If anything goes out into the public once we're out of here! It's war!"

"Whatever! You thieving crook of a Slytherin!"

Anger flashed across Daphne's eyes.

* * *

The chat between Hermione and Astoria was in full swing. Madame Pomfrey was sitting across the room smiling. She loved to see students from different houses get along. As far as she was concerned the tradition of Hogwarts houses was in a serious need of a change. The girls laughed again. It was good to hear it.

"I don't understand it! How could you end up in Slytherin?' asked Hermione. "You are so... so..."

"Freakishly beautiful?" interrupted Astoria. "Loving? Well mannered? Compassionate? Caring?" Hermione covered her mouth trying to hold in the giggle that was trying to make it to the surface. "Exotic? Witty and insanely smart?" continued the blonde trying to keep her face neutral. She failed badly and she knew it. The two giggled again.

"For real now! How did you get sorted into Slytherin? You don't seem to be the type."

"You mean power-hungry, scheming, blood-supremacist?" asked the blonde. The brunette nodded. "Ambition! Ambition all the way! Trust me 'Mione! I'm in the right house!"

"And that ambition would be?" asked the Gryffindor girl starting to get interested.

"Take a guess!" was all the answer she received.

"You're trying to tease me!"

"Sure am!" responded the Slytherin with mirth. Hermione cast an annoyed stare at the girl. The response was a blink that was meant to look innocent.

"Harry wasn't kidding when he told me about you."

Astoria was intrigued by this news. "Really now? What secrets about me did he pass on?" she asked trying to mask her usual cat-like smile.

"Not telling till you spill the beans! What is the ambition that got you into Slytherin?" argued Hermione. She had no intention to let the younger girl control the conversation, she especially didn't want to let her turn it into a teasing match.

"Aw... You're no fun!" came the answer accompanied by a fake pout.

Hermione had to fight not to laugh at the expression. "Spill it!" she responded insisting not leaving any room for a comeback. The other girl cracked after a short silence.

"Okay, okay!" she said. "I'll tell, but after that, you tell me about what Harry thinks of me!"

Hermione smiled and nodded to signal her consent.

"Promise you won't laugh?" asked Astoria.

"Why would I?" responded Hermione, not really understanding the reason for the sudden blush that started to form on the other girl's face.

"Sports!" answered the girl.

Hermione stared, blinking, trying to find the second head the younger girl most probably had grown.

* * *

Daphne and Ron reached the outskirts of the ruin. The boy was glaring at the girl with hate while he was clutching his still stinging cheek. He was sure that his eye will have a nice shade of blue or even black by the morning. The girl was grinning despite the trouble they were in. Their path led them down on a driveway of some sort. It was overgrown with vegetation leaving only enough room to walk in a single line. Only the leftover gravel gave away the original nature of their route.

They walked past a demolished gate. Something in the distant past tore it from its hinges now it was rusting away leaning against the pillar that once held it. That too was in a deplorable condition. Overgrown by wines and full of cracks.

The once neatly trimmed bushes have grown wild obscuring much of the way towards what once was the main building. The house, which at one time was a grand expression of wealth and power was now a scene of complete destruction. Some parts of the wall were still standing proud giving away that the place had once been a luxurious mansion with at least two floors. The roof was completely missing, most probably it collapsed aeons ago as a result what appeared to be some form of an attack.

The faded scorch marks and the eroded craters clearly gave it away that the state of disrepair was not only caused by time alone. The main entrance showed the evidence of a great explosion that tore it open leaving a gaping opening in the front.

"Somebody fought a losing battle here!" remarked Daphne as she took in the destruction.

"You don't say!" commented Ron looking around. "We really should leave. This place is giving me the creeps!"

"What is it, Weasley? You scared of a few ghosts?" asked the girl in a sarcastic tone. She grinned at the boy's anger-filled eyes.

"Very funny Greengrass!" countered the young Weasley, busy searching for any possible source of danger. "We are stuck in some spell and this is its centre. I doubt poking around is a good idea. We should find some safe way to get out of here!"

Daphne didn't care and walked closer to the ruined building. She didn't even look at the boy as she was trying to find a clue to end the spell. She knew that a simple "finite incantem" would not work. It would be too easy. Any wizard with decent knowledge would make sure to counter that move when it came to more elaborate spells. This spell was most probably of that kind.

"I want a quick way out of here, Weasley! Black is on the loose and my sister is in danger!" she said while observing one of the more preserved windows.

"Care to explain why?" asked Ron. "If he is after someone it has to be Harry. His parents died because of him. He just escaped from prison to finish the job!"

Daphne glanced at the boy with a grim expression. "All the more reason to get out of here! We received some mail from that madman with a very personal proposal we really didn't like..."

"And that would be?" interrupted Ron starting to get angry once more.

Daphne let out a long sigh to her it was clear her mind. The boy was just rubbing her the wrong way. He was very intelligent, but when it came to wisdom he was a complete fool. Not the best of combination. Once her mind was cleared she spoke in a slow but strict voice."He is after me and Astoria. He wants to force us to marry him. With the use of some sort of magic I probably. You follow me, Weasley?" The boy nodded. "Good! Astoria and Harry in the same spot. Guess what he would do if he finds them!"

The boy's expression became horrified.

Daphne decided to use her chance while the redhead was still listening. "We have to get out of here and there's no time for being careful! The best we can do is to go through the middle. We could be stuck here for days if we go around and do things carefully.

Ron looked at the girl then at the surrounding rubble. "I have a bad feeling about all this!" he remarked. "Thrust me, Greengrass, when I say something bad is going to happen I'm usually right!"

The girl looked at the boy with contempt. He was just like all those other boys in school. Yellow to the core and ready to run at the first sight of danger. "Should have known!" she remarked. "A huge mouth and that's about it! On the well pawed and much-used road to turning into sheep, like so many others!" her words were dripping with so much disdain that even the Weasley boy couldn't miss it.

It was an obvious insult that he couldn't let go. He forced his emotions down. The girl stood for just about everything he hated. As much he didn't like it he was forced to work with her. "Whatever! Let's get to it and break this spell or whatever it is!" he growled letting the insult go with a heavy heart. Then he heard a sound, a faint clicking sound. The sound that was bound to haunt him for the rest of his life. The last time he had the dubious joy to hear those clicks it was only thanks to sheer luck that he got away with his life.

"Greengrass we are in an illusion right?" he asked while fighting the shivers running up and down on his spine.

"Of a sort." answered the girl also searching for the source that seemed to be all around.

"So we can't die in here, can we?" he asked again.

"I wouldn't count on that." answered the girl readying her wand. "As far as I can tell we are still in our physical body. Any harm we receive here could be lethal." The answer was everything but reassuring. Ron resisted the need to run for it.

A bush on Ron's left started to shake. Something large was trying to fight its way across. Then another bush started to move. Then he spotted a long slender leg he hoped never to see again. It belonged to a hairy arthropod. A body soon followed. Eight eyes searching for food. Fangs dripping with venom. The boy fought to keep control over his bowels and barely won. He backed away from the creatures as they were emerging one after the other. He could feel his knees starting to shake. After backing up a few steps he couldn't retreat any further. His back bumped into Daphne's. More huge spiders herded her into him. They were trapped, surrounded. She was busy digging through her robes with her left hand while aiming at the spiders with her wand in the right.

"Any bright ideas?" he asked.

"Nothing!" she answered.

The boy shivered at that response. "Well you better think of something, because we are running out of time!" he tried to resist the urge to shiver, but it was futile. Soon, his entire body was shaking with dread.

Daphne would have been utterly disgusted the cowardice on display if it wasn't for the apparently hopeless situation. And the fact that she too was quivering. She finally found what she was looking for and pulled out her second weapon. There was no use hiding it in such a bad situation. Explaining it to him could wait, not that she had much hope of them walking away. The polished chrome surface of the muggle tool glistened in the sun in a way that would make many mundane members of humanity uneasy. With an audible click, she undid the safety, determined to put up a hell of a fight. "Start acting like a man Weasley!" she hissed at the boy as even more of the creatures appeared. In total ten of the huge spiders made their appearance and several more of their smaller brethren. By the end, Ron was whimpering in fear.

"You are embarrassing yourself!" came Daphne's hiss a second time.

"Well sorry for being scared of spiders the size of a cart!" retorted Ron not taking any of Daphne's harsh remark. "Damn it! Too many legs!" he whispered to himself not able to keep the comment silent.

The arachnoids stopped a good five feet from the two, observing their actions as if trying to decide which one to choose as the first course. To Ron, it all looked awfully like people at a shop trying to decide what to order. Daphne, on the other hand, was preparing herself to make a fight of it.

* * *

The conversation in the infirmary was still in full swing. Hermione was somewhat surprised by the younger girl. Her goals, while somewhat noble, were outright outlandish. Changing the whole of wizarding society through sports? Becoming the first witch to make it to the Olympics?

The word naive came to her mind. Luckily she managed to keep her opinion to herself. It was a strange contrast compared to the sharp wit the girl was throwing around. She, however, had to admit that the level of the younger girl's goals were indeed in the Slytherin category and the conviction she spoke with was downright impressive.

As soon as Astoria's plans were put on full display she countered. The girl was grinning like the proverbial feline demanding to know what Harry had released to the bushy-haired girl. Hermione smiled at that. The request was somewhat polite, but there was a certain kind of force behind it. The brunette girl soon found herself staring at the ground trying to find the right words. "Well..." she began immediately taking a brief pause. "He told me how you help him out with his chore, and that he thinks you are very nice."

"I see my charms have gotten to him!" joked Astoria running her fingers through her hair in a provocative fashion. Hermione couldn't help but shake her head sooner or later that attitude is bound to get the blond into trouble.

The Gryffindor girl continued while looking up at the ground trying to form a cohesive list in her mind. "He really likes spending time with you and wants to repay you for all that teasing."The Greengrass girl just smiled at the news. Hermione stopped for a few seconds he was surprised by what she saw under the boy's bed. It was something that in her mind shouldn't ever be left lying around somewhere where it could get damaged. At the end of the bed next to the chamberpot, there was an old book. From the looks of it was an ancient tome of some sort. All complete with leather binding and jet-black covering. The pages were made of some sort of parchment, their edges were torn and rugged, worn with time. Her mind was screaming at the irresponsibility for leaving such an old thing lying around on the floor.

She masked her outrage well and returned her gaze to the other girl. "I'd be careful if I were you! Harry may not look like it at first glance, but he sure has an ability to achieve anything once he had set his mind on it." Hermione was more than surprised by the smile she was receiving.

"Really?" asked the blond girl. "What on Earth would he want with little old me?" she asked in an innocent-sounding tone.

Hermione shook her head at the question. The little girl was starting to overdo the joke. "Don't say I didn't warn you!" responded the brunette. Her focus, however, was now more on the old book next to her feet. She couldn't just leave it there. She decided that the best course of action was returning it to the library from where it probably came from. Maybe Madam Pince would go easy on her for a few days or even let her borrow one of the rarer books. That would be just great. With that prospect looming before her eyes she leaned forward, this time with the goal of taking hold o the ancient tome.


	9. World in a Pocket

**The Snake Princess**

* * *

AN: Hi all! Still busy raking out smaller mistakes in earlier chapters. I never figured I was that rusty. On the bright side, I think the first four chapters are now in their final forms. (I hope!) I'd like to thank for the reviews and for pointing out a major glitch with McGonagall's opening in the last chapter.

I still don't own anything of Rowling's Harry Potter world, neither do I get any money from this, so don't sue me! Need to change the disclaimer it's getting old!

* * *

**Chapter 9: World in a Pocket**

* * *

Hermione slowly got to her feet. Her head was on a swivel searching for any sign of danger; her wand at the ready to allow her to react to danger. Wherever this place was it was definitely not Hogwarts. She fought the foul feeling spreading across her entire body. This was not the time she needed to get her act together.

Just a few moments before her finger came into contact with what appeared to be the surface of the old tome a feeling of foreboding washed across her body. She pushed it to the side. "What could go wrong?" she reasoned, forgetting that those were words that were said far too often before fatal accidents. When she finally reached the old book her fingers passed right through what only appeared to be a solid surface; she knew at that moment, she had messed up. And not by a small margin.

Her stinging posterior agreed with that assessment. From one second to the other the chair she sat on vanished from underneath her. Or rather she was transported to some other place leaving said chair at the point of origin. All she could remember of the trip was a bright flash and that was it. With loosing the rather uncomfortable support the trip to the ground became a rather swift. The resulting landing on the rocky soil was everything but nice.

She didn't need much to figure it out what happened. The book was a trap. She took it, swallowed it, hook and all. The school disappeared, to be replaced by an orchard of some kind. The place appeared to have fallen into disuse long ago. The trees, bushes, grass all grown wild with no one keeping them in line Branches reaching for the sky competing for the warm sunlight in vicious combat. The hedges surrounding the enclosure were like a jungle. Their vines were everywhere making the clearing much smaller than it had once been. They also reached up into the sky and some more adventurous ones were even using the fruit-bearing trees to get ahead in the fight.

The hedges were also incredibly ancient and dense, too dense for one to just push their way through. The girl was frantic, searching for an escape and was relieved when she managed to spot a possible opening. She knew she had to move. The exit itself, if it could be called that, was more of a small area where the hedges seemed to be less dense than at other places. It was a tight squeeze, but one could get through.

If she had been alone she wouldn't have hesitated. She would have immediately taken the chance. However, she wasn't alone. The trap decided to bring Harry along. The boy was still unconscious and there was no telling how long he will be like that. Then there was Astoria. Even if she was talented for a firstie she was still just that... A beginner! There was no telling what she would or even could do if things turned really bad. Hermione hated the situation.

While the bushy-haired girl did like to be in charge this was different. For all she knew, they could be heading off into a life and death situation. If Harry had been awake or Ron had been there she would have been more confident. But alone, with one down and a rookie. Her decisions weighed much for her liking.

One question was circling in her mind: What could be found on the other side of the hedge? It could be anything! It could be nothing. Or something could be lying in wait, ready to pounce; prepared to set off the next part of the trap. She didn't want to risk that. Of course, there were spells that could help in getting the necessary information, but at the same time, those spells could also bring attention to the caster. It was a danger she didn't want to take. It was also the sole reason why she wasn't already using her wand to hack across the bushes.

Hermione glanced at the others who involuntarily accompanied her for the little trip. Harry was in the ground in his dementor induced coma. Astoria was kneeling next to him, checking him over to make sure he's all right. She was also rubbing her bum in an attempt to ease the pain. Just as Hermione the blonde also made a hard landing when transported to this place.

She relaxed when she finally fount that the boy was uninjured. "He seems to be all right." she informed the brunette before her eyes started to wander across their immediate surroundings "What happened? Where are we?" she asked, doing her best to remain calm and collected.

Hermione, relaxed a bit. At least the little girl wasn't panicking and making things worse. She went over their surroundings once more trying to gather her thoughts. The brunette looked at the tick grass for a few seconds in embarrassment. She couldn't bear to look into the younger girl's eyes. "I was stupid!" she responded in a sober tone. Her cheeks carried a light pink hue. "There was this book under Harry's bed. I wanted to pick it up and put it somewhere safe."

"So... you have no idea where we are?" asked Astoria. Hermione gave a small nod. The blonde accepted it with a grim look. "So what do we do now?" she asked.

Hermione let out a long sigh. She finally made her decision. "We have to get out of here and find a place to hide!" she said. Her words were slow and deliberate. She hoped her voice and the expression on her face would radiate confidence instead of how scared she felt. For all them, she had to lead them out of this. There was no more time left to hesitate. Hermione rose to her feet looking at the exit once again. "Did Professor Flitwick finish teaching you the levitation spell?" she asked.

"Long ago." responded Astoria witch confidence. She had a very good idea how the question came to be. They couldn't leave the boy behind. Someone had to transport him and as neither of them was strong they had to use magic for that. At least unlike the basic scrying spells at Hermione's disposal, this was not as easy to detect.

The young Greengrass aimed at Harry. She did it so many times with the feather that it almost became second nature to her. Now she only had to take it into account how much heavier the boy was. A short deliberation and a lot of concentration later she cast the spell with the by now very familiar "Vingrado Leviosa" incantation. The girl was awaiting the usual light glow and gentle rise. That was not what happened. There was no glow, but a blaze. She paled when Harry's body jumped off the ground to almost reach the lower branches. Seconds of frantic action and at times improvisation followed as Astoria fought to gain control of the spell and to keep the boy from impacting on the ground. His body was getting yanked up and down sometimes getting dangerously close to hitting the soil or a tree, going much faster than it would be good for him. It took Hermione's intervention to stabilise the disaster in the making and provide the boy with a soft landing.

Hermione sent a glare towards the embarrassed girl, who was looking at the Gryffindor sheepishly. "Sorry." she mumbled finding the grass very interesting.

The brunette was not amused. "He's not a sack of potatoes you know!"

"Sorry."

"You were lucky he didn't crash into a branch or something."

"Sorry!" came the repeated apology.

"Okay! Just take it easy! We need to bring him with us, not send him into orbit." remarked the brunette girl.

"I'm sorry! Okay!" Astoria's voice sounded irritated this time around.

Hermione let out a long breath to calm herself. She was nervous enough. Astoria's fumble didn't help much. The brunette once more forced attention to the spot where she suspected the opening. They had to move.

The escape route she located could be barely called that. The vegetation was simply less thick than in other places. It promised to be a tight squeeze, but it was the best they had. Hermione once again thought about cutting their way through. Then she took a step back from that idea again. The noise made but cutting their way out would have been too much.

The brunette girl pushed forward bending the branches, pressing ahead. At the same time, she was trying to make the bushes move as little as possible. The hope was that she just might spot anyone waiting on the other end. In such a case the girls could spring an ambush of their own or carefully fall back to find another way out.

The path, not that it could even be called that, it was indeed small, but it was enough. There were a few spider-webs that got caught in her face and hair. It was an unpleasant feeling, but she ignored it. A few spiders making a nest in a bush was not something to be alarmed over. She also didn't have the luxury to care about them. She needed to get everybody to some safe place, and in the long-run find a way back to Hogwarts.

The exit turned out to have once been a narrow corridor. It was long and at times Hermione considered turning around. Slowly and carefully she moved on trying to make the least noise. Always on the lookout. As she reached the end of the path she peered out from along the leaves to find an empty yard. There was only overgrown grass, and even more out of control vegetation. Some distance away there was a wall, the side of a ruined house. It was in complete disarray, run over with vines of various kinds. Only a few burnt-out windows broke the greenery, as a memento of the fires that once consumed everything within.

She relaxed upon seeing no immediate threat. But the lack of an apparent danger was never a guarantee for safety. A good ambush always was and will always be the one that can't be seen by the victim till it's too late. The Gryffindor girl waited for at least a minute. Standing among the vines, completely still, looking for the slightest hint of movement. She could find none. Upon coming up with nothing yet again, she took a tentative step forward finally emerging from the cover. Her senses felt sharper than ever before. She felt even the smallest movements that were made by her body. Even when she took a breath. The grass pressing against her robes pushing her clothing against her legs. Her eyes were on the lookout for the smallest movement of the foliage. There was none. The entire place seemed strange. There was no wind. Just the silent plantlife. To her, it all felt as if she was walking in some fake reality. But the detail of it all made her doubt her own thoughts.

Behind her, Astoria followed levitating Harry in the front. "I hate spiders!" she remarked in discomfort. Pulling webs out of her hair with a disgusted face.

"You haven't seen a certain someone I know." answered Hermione taking a few steps in the direction of the walls. She hoped the ruined building could give a hint where they are. All the while the girl kept as close to the hedge as possible. The leaves and branches provided some level of stealth and her hope was that maybe, just maybe they could aid in slipping passed a possible adversary.

Astoria was following close by crouched down following the example set by the girl in front. One eye on Harry one eye on the lookout. She was starting to think the older girl was just over-cautious when she saw her stiffen. The brunette seemed to be fighting against something before falling to the ground. Letting out a scream of agony.

As Hermione was making her way towards the burnt-out house the whole being was suddenly filled with the most excruciating pain she ever felt. Barely did it even begun she was already on the ground convulsing, trying anything possible to ease it. It felt like as her flesh was melting off her bones. It didn't take her long to lose her battle and cry out in pain. Only once she completely gave up and let out a full-blown scream did the pain ease. While Hermione was riding out the after-effects of the sudden assault she heard a heinous laughter. It was soon joined by a female cry of agony. She knew that voice. Whoever was behind the attack, had now directed its attention to Astoria.

Hermione fought the nausea and dizziness and turned towards the girl. Her hand was frantically searching for her wand which she dropped when the pain became unbearable. Finding it with the remnants of the curse still circulating across her body was hard. The returning tremors were making it impossible to focus, each time they returned she had to fight the need to scream. Not once she was forced to stop as another wave rolled across her. Even after the spell was broken it was a hellish experience. Pure suffering at its finest.

Finally, she managed to lift her head despite the spasm that was making her world hell. What she saw almost made her wish she hadn't glanced at her enemy. At a first glance, it looked like a house-elf, but it could be barely called that. The grime and decay rolling off of it was suffocating. The creature was barely covered by the dirty, torn rags that seemed to be holding onto his body more thanks to magic than anything else. There were holes upon holes and the leftover was stained in a way that could only be the result of wearing nothing but that single set of rags for years upon years without ever taking it off for a wash.

The creature's body was not much better. It was covered by scars and unhealthy looking purple spots. One of its ears was missing with only a huge burnt scar hinting at what had happened to it. The other ear, if it could be called one, barely had any form. It hung from its owner's head as if it was a worn-out plastic bag. It ran down to the back of the creature like a dead clump of flesh. It was the most deplorable looking elf she had ever seen in her life. By comparison, Dobby, even on his worst days, looked like nobility.

What finally shook her from the state of stupor were the eyes of the creature. Pure malice, mixed with paranoia. Focusing on one place then jumping to another, only to linger for a second or two. And, finally... Joy! The elf found joy in seeing someone else suffer. Its hands shot forward is if pushing some unseen object making Astoria cry out even louder as the magic ravaged her. The creature, on the other hand, smiled even more if possible. Its laugh created a dark contrast to her wail.

Hermione's hand finally found the wand she was looking for. She took hold, squeezing it hard. For the first time in her life, she really wanted to infect harm on someone. She finally understood the reason why the unforgivable curses gained their title. Without hesitation, she manoeuvred her wand to let a spell loose at the house-elf. The incantation was already on her tongue when the creature turned towards her. Whatever kind of spell it used she didn't know, but immediately she felt its effects as her world was once more filled with nothing but agony. All the while, the creature's insane laugh sent chills down her back.

Once she felt the pain loosen she fell to the ground again. Like a marionette with its strings cut. She heard whimpers and sobs from Astoria's direction. When she looked up she saw the younger girl with tears in her eyes, struggling to get on her feet, clutching her wand. Even in the pitiful state, she was searching for the elf with the clear intent to inflict payback.

Then the assault ended. Just the way it started. Out of the blue, without a warning. Both girls were perplexed. The creature had them at its mercy. It could have easily killed them both. They got to their feet as quickly as possible frantically searching for their assailant. For several long seconds, everything was quiet.

Then there was a loud pop. The creature apparated into the middle of the small group. This time its target was Harry. His body was thrashing back and forth under the pressure caused by the pain-inflicting spell. His unconscious state turned out to be a blessing in disguise as he couldn't feel any of the curse. The creature seemed to be positively infuriated that it couldn't bring him to scream. It didn't seem to understand the concept of being unconscious.

The girls charged at the elf enraged and appalled by its actions. They would have loved to pummel the creature with repeated curses, but they didn't dare to throw any at it. The insane creature was standing right between the two of them and should it manage to dodge they could easily end up taking each other out. Instead, they decided to use their physical advantage over it.

Both jumped at it intending to tackle the elf to the ground. As much as the hated the thought of touching the filthy thing they had to somehow stop its rampage. Just as they were about to grab the creature, it disappeared with a loud pop. Astoria barely managed to twist to the side and avoid a collision with Hermione, who landed on the ground in a loud thud. To say that they were embarrassed was an understatement. A house-elf of all things was handing them their rear with ease.

The girls were rallying themselves for another round, determined to finally get even. They were getting into position to cover each other and Harry when an ungodly crack ripped into the silence. It came from the far end of the mansion. It was followed by further sharp crackling sounds and a series of low rumbling ones that sounded like explosions. Hermione flinched at the loud noises. Especially at the sisters of the first deafening crackle. They had a ring of finality to them that didn't sit well with her. Astoria's face showed considerable amount of worry, but she seemed to be a bit more casual about them.

"Gunshots?" she asked. "Here?" At Hermione's horror-struck and questioning eyes she shrugged. "What? At times a company needs brute force to protect itself!" Hermione's previous look intensified. The questions trying to force their way out of her mouth had to be left for later. She was not sure if it was wise to ask them in the first place.

Another pop brought them back to their problem at hand. The elf was back. This time around it seemed to change its approach. It was holding an immense spider in each hand. The legs of both arachnids were swaying vigorously trying to get hold of any surface. They seemed to be annoyed at being elf-handled and wanted to inflict vengeance at anybody and anything they can reach.

The creature's face was contorted into a sneer as threw the spiders into at the unmoving boy. The girls fired several spells at it as soon as they saw the elf, but there was no way to keep the creature from hurling the arachnids into the air. The elf also proved to be frighteningly agile as it dodged much of the incoming magic. But it was not infallible. A blue bolt stuck its leg and the creature fell face-first into the dirt. Under normal circumstances, any mage would have pressed the advantage to capture or destroy their opponent.

Hermione and Astoria would have done just that if it wasn't for the spiders flying towards Harry. The girls were determined to take them out before those could get to the boy. They fired at least a dozen spells, but none of those seemed to have any real effect. Some spells seemed to pass right through the eight-legged creatures. When magic didn't seem to have any use Astoria charged at the arachnids to stop them from biting into the comatose boy. Hermione was right behind her. But something didn't seem right with those insects.

Daphne was getting restless. The stalemate she was part of was not to her liking. The carnage was only postponed because her assailants knew that she'd take many of them down with her. However, it was never a question what the end result will be once things get heated. She was acromantula chow. She was sure of that fact. She just wished for it all to be over. The suspense and the inevitability of the end-result made the waiting all the more agonising.

She was also annoyed about the company about her company for the trip. She always thought she would live to a ripe old age and kick the bucket surrounded by a large family while telling tales of her past deeds. Being ambushed by a colony of oversized fly swatters was not part of that plan. And the whimpering company looked even worse in her opinion. The poor excuse for a male pressed against her back, more annoying than anything else.

"Come on Weasley! Man up!" she growled.

"Too many legs!" whispered Ron again annoying the hell out of her.

"Oh... really? I haven't noticed!" she barked back. "Check out the fangs! Those things are a killer!" Despite the dire situation she smirked at the remark.

If possible the redhead went even paler. The girl didn't care. She was all too busy trying to keep herself from turning into a nervous wreck. Her own legs were shaking like mad. She was gripping her wand with a strength she never knew of. At the same time, she was committing the touch of the hazel wand in her hand to memory. As if to make sure she could remember her trusty friend in the afterlife.

In her left hand, she strengthened her grip on her little surprise from the muggle world. She always considered her trusty berretta to be useful in a pinch and to give one painful surprise to any wizard who would dare to corner her.

Not many magicals made the effort to learn about the armaments used by the mundane. The gun would have been her perfect ace in the hole against any spell-casting opponent. They wouldn't know how to defend against it until it was too late. In this situation, sadly, it was only good enough to buy a few desperate seconds of life before the inevitable. Even so, she was not against using it. The weapon meant more of the abominations would bite the dust before they could get to her juicy flesh.

She felt another shudder run across the Weasley boy who was tightly pressed against her back. She cursed silently. Out of all the people it had to be a coward extraordinaire who was by her side at her dying hour.

Minutes passed. The spiders didn't make their move. They just waited there for some untold cue. With each passing second, she could feel the desperation winning her over. "Come on you useless pests! I have places to be!" she yelled at the swarm. The spiders didn't seem to care and kept their distance.

"Are you crazy! Don't make them mad!" yelled Ron at her.

"Do I look like I care?" asked the girl. "We are dead whatever we do!"

She felt the boy's shoulder stiffen. The shaking and shivering finally came to an end. Somehow this proved to be even worse. Now it was her who was fighting to keep from making irrational twitches. Her hands were starting to shake dangerously. She tightened her grip on her gun more. The stippling bit into her skin giving her some semblance of security, but it was fading fast.

Then she heard a scream from what she assumed to be the far end of the mansion. The voice was unknown and she chalked up as another attempt from the illusion around her to give up. Seconds later a second scream followed. This one she knew too well. "Astoria!" hollered Daphne's mind. Her little sister was in Danger. The need for self-preservation was replaced by the need to fight.

With a rage-filled scream, she cast her first spell while opening up with her handgun. The sharp bang of the gun gave her strength. Daphne was now determined to break out from the encirclement. Even if it was futile. It was stupid to sit around till the spiders notice an opening and swarm the two of them.

The bullets went through the gigantic spiders while the explosion charms threw up large amounts of dirt, creating a new set of craters. To Daphne's horror, her attacks didn't seem to have much effect on the horde, safe for triggering the attack she feared so much. All her attempts at stalling the flood were for naught. They couldn't even slow the attacking arachnids. Ron followed her example suit adding his own part in the desperate bid. Now that the jig was up he seemed to be calm and collected. He was doing his best to put up the futile resistance without the faintest complaint.

Then the spiders reached them. A forest of fangs and venom descended on the students. Both shielded their faces knowing well it was no use. It was more reflex than anything else. They were expecting lots of suffering as several spiders sung into them. Daphne let out a desperate scream for help while Ron kept on slinging spells.

When Daphne finally realized that there was no pain, no getting mangled she lowered her hands. She took a step back. Another scream died in her throat. It was forced to the back by her sheer willpower. The scene unfolding around her was surreal. Spiders upon spiders were stabbing repeatedly into her. Their fangs were seemingly sinking into her skin but never causing any wounds. They were savage and merciless. But at they brought their dreaded fangs down on her and Ron those just passed through their bodies. The first few times she was terrified when she saw the creatures raise their huge stingers, but she soon came to an understanding. It was all an elaborate ruse. Terrifying, yes, but otherwise it was harmless.

"Illusions?" she asked with incredulity while observing the bestial scene. Ron too was slowly coming to the realization. He lowered his hands. His face was like a blank sheet of paper. His body twitched every time as another fake fang passed through his torso. "Phobia!" was Daphne's final conclusion making her re-evaluate much of her thoughts. She almost felt sorry for the boy. Much of the spell's horrors seemed to based on his fears.

Ron was wondering why his heart was still inside his body. He could hear each beat loud and clear. His head felt strange and his vision was blurred. He was staring forward unmoving as if he was mesmerised.

Daphne was starting to get angry. It had been years since something frightened her enough to scream for help. She considered herself a strong woman and hated looking weak or fearful. This illusion brought those feelings back to her and she hated it. For that, she wanted revenge, no matter who it was. The horrific sight around her was no longer having a real effect on her. It was fake! She was fooled. She hated getting fooled. She also wanted to find her sister. If Astoria was stuck in the same illusion she had to help her get to safety.

"Come on Weasley!" she called out. "You had your fun! It's time to find our way home!"

The boy didn't hear a word of her declaration. He remained standing still: He was frozen in fear and only started to move when the girl grabbed his hand and dragged him from the vision of carnage that had him trapped. "Enough playing with lights and fire!" remarked the girl. The boy just followed her with a vacant expression.

The girl spotted another spider scurrying towards her. A smaller one, the size of an average housecat. She didn't give it any mind. It was another illusion within an illusionary world. She was done with this place and ready to do in anything or anyone who kept her there! When the acromantula reached her it proved to be different. This one proved to be more than just a mere illusion. The bite and the venom were all too real. It was as if two hornets rammed their stingers into her flesh at the same time. She stared at the creature in shock. Unable to move or scream.

When it finally released her she collapsed like a doll. She fought against the panicked feeling running across her body, she was losing badly. Her heart was beating as if she had just finished a marathon. Now she too could hear each and every beat of her heart. The metallic taste in her mouth was annoying beyond belief, but the worst of it all was the feeling of helplessness, immense need to give up and just stay where she was. To her, it was plain torture. For now, she was forced to stay put anyhow. The pain radiating from her mauled ankle was unbearable. She needed all her willpower to keep from screaming.

When Ron saw the spider he did his best to keep his distance from the horrid creature. Even if it was a fake one the mere sight of it was enough to send him to the deep end. Those hairy legs... He didn't manage to keep from shuddering. Daphne just marched on she didn't seem to be fazed by the illusion. He was envious of how she was apparently able to dismiss her own fears so easily.

That envy was replaced by horror when the acromantula turned out to be more real than he would have preferred. The spider's bite took an agonizingly long time. During all of it, he wanted to act, but his body simply didn't move. He just stood there giving the orders to his body again and again, but as if time stood still it just wouldn't react with the speed he thought he could achieve. As the spider released Daphne she fell like a sack of potatoes. It was then that he finally managed to get his body into gear. He fired a spell at the spider sending it flying across the air.

The young acromantula slammed against a nearby tree. It was still alive and now angry. Ron was all but a stuttering mess when he fired two more spells at the creature. He had no idea how she could even manage to call the incantations without stuttering. The first one once more knocked at the spider against the tree. The second red bolt of magic connected just as the spider was starting to fall. It was a much stronger spell than the first. It was born out of desperation and the need to be immediately rid of the danger. To Ron's relief, it proved to be enough. When the acromantula landed it tried to move, but a few twitches and a high pitched squeak was all that it managed to achieve. After a short struggle, the creature rolled over and took up the well-known pose of a dead insect. He let out a sigh of relief.

Behind him, the illusionary spiders started to fade. They were still busy trying to bite into their imaginary prey in a manner that was just as vicious as before. To Ron they didn't really matter anymore he had too many spiders for the day to be able to care anymore.

His focus fell on Daphne. The girl looked horrid. No matter how much he hated her and everything she stood for, she was still a witch. If one thing was sure it was that her fathers and older brothers made sure to drill it into his head how he should always take care of witches in need. It also shocked him that Daphne now looked more like a scared puppy than the all-powerful, all-knowing witch from before. The difference was insane and in a certain way compelled him, even more, to help her in her need. He immediately got to the ground trying to calm his nerves for both of their sakes. "Are you all right?" he asked cradling her head with his hands.

The girl looked at him, trying to keep a straight face, but she failed badly. Her expressions were contorted as she was fighting to remain in control. "Do I look like it Weasley?" she asked. The sarcasm could not be overheard. "Just a little acromantula sting! No biggie!" her voice felt weak and tired. "Damn! Getting fooled by an illusion within an illusion! Mother would kill me if it wasn't for the venom in my blood!" she continued more to herself.

Ron himself was at a loss to what to do. The situation he was in was not to his liking. He placed the girl's head in his lap while trying to come up with anything he could do for her. Since healing was definitely not one of his strong points he came up with nothing. The standard procedure at an acromantula bite was to get the victim to a doctor and feed it a cleansing potion. So that the worst of the poison can be warded off. Then came a long procedure to take care of the other effects caused by the toxins in the unfortunate soul's body.

The other option was to pray and hope for the best as the bite of even a medium-sized acromantula was quite dangerous and even those who were lucky to get through had a very interesting few hours to look forward to. Hours filled with hallucinations, cramps strong enough cause muscle tears and the complete inability to move were the norm.

Daphne released her ankle. It was starting to swell and the first signs of numbness were starting to appear. She knew she was in for it. She was fearful of what was to come. The logical part of her brain managed to wrestle control from the mess that was the rest and told her to act before she was fully incapacitated. She had to act before paralysis fully set in turning her into nothing more than dead weight. She had to act and do whatever she could to increase her and her sister's chance of survival.

"Weasley!" she started in the most commanding tone she could muster. "My sister is also trapped somewhere in this mess!"

"Forget about her were need to get out of this place and to a healer!" retorted Ron.

Daphne's glare silenced him. She was not sure how she managed to achieve that with her head now resting in her lap but she didn't complain. "I promised Mother to keep my sis out of trouble no matter what. If she stays here I stay here!"

"Bullshit!" barked Ron all of a sudden sounding dangerous. "You need a doctor! I'm getting you out of here!"

Daphne's eyes hardened at the retort. On one end she wanted to slap the boy for the way he was talking to her, on another side she felt grateful for how determined he was to get her to safety. It was a feeling she didn't experience in a long time. She once more pushed those thoughts to the side. She had to act before the poison took her ability to speak.

The girl took her gun and forced it into Ron's hand. The entire action felt wrong, she knew the risks. She was placing a deadly weapon into the hands of a person who had no idea how to use it. It was a bad move but there was nothing else she could do.

By providing the boy with more firepower she was increasing their chances of survival. As long he doesn't shoot himself... That thought was in her mind too well. It was a risk she was forced to take. "Listen, Weasley, and don't interrupt! I don't know how much time I've got before I'm turned into a paper-weight! That thing is your hand is the muggle version of the killing curse."

Ron almost dropped the weapon at those words. "Before you soil yourself, even more, people can carry those if they have fulfilled certain rules." informed Daphne. She held back a grimace at those words. In her case, many rules were bent others were downright broken. Among other things, she had a fake muggle ID that would designate her as an adult just to be on the safe side. She had to admit her father was a thorough wizard when it came to breaking the law and make things look legal.

Filled with concern and doubt she opened her mouth to explain the tool. "Now listen!" she started. "I will not tell you twice and I will not be responsible if you shoot yourself into the foot!"

Astoria swiped at the spiders trying to shoo them away from Harry. They were awfully close to him when she reached them. Her arms went right through them. "Illusions!" hollered her mind. The dammed elf used illusions on them. She was now really mad. She turned to the creature and it was laughing. Again! In that annoying tone! She was livid, both she and Hermione.

The filthy thing was playing with them. It was having fun once again the elf was holding a spider in each hand. The girls did not care. They wanted the elf gone no matter how.

It threw the spiders at them, then it snapped its fingers. The girls prepared for some kind of an attack but there was none. Instead, the elf ran for it. Both witches released their anger on the filthy creature. They hated how it acted as if it was all a game. And now that they finally had the upper hand, they wanted retribution. They called out the names of a series of attacks throwing their magic at the elf without hesitation. But once more the elf proved to be too mobile. It sped off in a zig-zag motion throwing off their aim. Most of the spells didn't connect and ended up doing nothing but creating small burns on the side of the ruined walls or throwing up dirt as they dissipated harmlessly on the ground. What spells did manage to make a contact bounced off a magical shield doing more harm to the immediate surroundings than to the creature which retreated into the mansion.

It was then that the airborne spiders landed. Hermione swatted at hers and once more it proved to be nothing more than an illusion. It appeared to sink its fangs into the girl, but there was nothing. The grisly sight made the brunette shudder.

Astoria's was different. She paled when she felt the weight of the insect on her chest. This one was real. Her entire body froze in fear and shock. The smallish acromantula used its chance and plunged its fangs into her shoulder. Hermione was staring at her with a horrid expression on her face, but there was nothing she could do.

Harry was woken by a thud. Something landed next to him in the grass of the quidditch pitch. He felt tired and groggy. His memory was hazy. Despite this, he grinned as his memories were starting to come back. He nailed the pompous Malfoy hard. He won't be making any jokes about him for some time. Then more information came back. The black hooded form, the skeletal hand, the female scream followed by a sickening green flash.

His head shot up, to look for the dementor. His hand latched onto his wand holster as he jumped up into a sitting position readying himself to put up any kind of defence he could against the dark creature. The first thing he noticed that he was no longer anywhere near the castle. The stands were gone, the weather felt also much warmer than it should be. The entire place looked alien.

The next thing that registered in his mind was Astoria. She was lying on the ground right next to him. There was an acromantula crawling on her body. Hermione was, again and again, swiping at the creature, trying to make it scatter away but it didn't budge. She didn't dare to fire a spell in fear of hitting the girl and couldn't really do anything else without getting bitten.

Harry's body almost acted on its own. He jumped up and kicked the spider in the side knocking the creature off Astoria. Hermione used her chance and called out the name of the strongest offensive spell that came to her mind. Her shot hit dead centre. The blazing white bolt magical flames ripped across the oversized insect apart, turning it into ashes, removing the threat posed by it.

Witch the acromantula gone both teens directed his focus on the girl, who was lying motionless on the ground. She was staring forward, frozen stiff by the shock. Her eyes stared at some far-away place empty of all emotions. Only her rising and falling chest gave it away that she was still alive.

Hermione and Harry both descended on the Slytherin girl not really sure what they could do to help her. "You all right Harry?" she asked on one end relieved that the boy was up and kicking. Now it was Astoria she was worried about. From the look of things now they were worse off than before. Even if Harry was a better fighter they were on the clock now and had to find help. Preferably immediately.

The trap, the crazy elf and being subjected to a version of the cruciatus spell were bad enough. But now Astoria was also stung by a class five beast. It was all because of her stupid mistake. She knew it will be weeks before she can once more look into a mirror without cringing.

The boy didn't pay much attention to the brunette. His response came in the form of a nod. He was more concerned with the young girl on the ground. Her unresponsive body alarmed him. He clapped his hand against her cheeks a few times hoping it was enough. To his relief it was. Her eyes focused on his face, she seemed to relax a bit, but the tired-looking expression she wore unnerved him.

"It hurts!" she whispered fighting to keep her tears from flowing. The stinging sensation emitting from her shoulder felt as if her body was on fire.

Hermione touched the girl's neck. The blonde's pulse was off the charts. "We have to get her to a healer, or a doctor!" she said "Damn elf and his damn spiders!" added the girl as an afterthought.

"What elf?" asked Harry.

"The elf that played us for fools." answered Hermione. She had a hard time accepting that a seemingly such innocent creature as a house-elf was capable of such things. "We have to follow it. It's our best option at getting out of here!" As Hermione said those words she was already getting to her feet. She wanted the whole ordeal to be over for everyone's sake.

Harry didn't hesitate to follow her lead. He agreed with the girl's decision they had no time to be cautious. If they wanted all of them to get out of this they had to pull another of their reckless stunts. "We'll get you home!" he promised to the girl then looked at the burned-out husk. "Hermione, you with me?" he asked.

The brunette girl nodded. She felt ready to give the house-elf some payback. "I'll bring Astoria you take the lead. You're better at fighting." Harry responded with a nod of his own.

* * *

At the other end of the gigantic manor, Ron and Daphne were making their way towards the main entrance or at least what used to be the main entrance of the building. The girl was leaning heavily on the young Weasley. She was displeased at the situation but refused to be transported like some damsel in distress. She was not sure how long her condition would allow her to walk but she refused to give in without a fight. Her arms and legs felt as if a smaller ant colony made their nest on them. The swelling on her foot was annoying.

Even in such a state, she forced her body to keep moving. She fought for each step she took. She had a sister to protect, and after getting through all this she had one Sirius Black to take her revenge out on. There was one other thing, as much as she hated it, she owed Ron an apology and a thanks.

The two of them finally made it to the entrance of the derelict manor. It was the centre of the illusion. Whatever was powering the spell had to be there. If they managed to destroy it they would be home free. The only question remaining was what were they looking for.

Just as this question was running across Daphne's mind she saw a movement at the corner of her eyes. Something was moving, right behind the toppled columns. Daphne was the first to recognise it. She tried to warn Ron, but she couldn't. The numbness had spread to her mouth and tongue as if it was by design. Ron identified the creature a few seconds later. "A house-elf?" he asked not really awaiting any answer. The creature was grinning at the two of them in a way that could be best described as sadistic.


	10. Out of the Pocket

**The Snake Princess**

* * *

AN: I know it was a long hiatus. The secondary project kinda took control over me. The plan was to leave the Ranma story as something to let off steam. As I said: It was the plan! Didn't work out like that. If you haven't heard of the manga and want something crazy funny, I recommend it! It's great stuff! Although you will have to accept some things that are really strange to people who don't understand how the Japanese mindset works.

Have fun reading! See ya around!

* * *

**Chapter 10: Out of the Pocket  
**

* * *

The hallways were desolate. Everything was covered with a fine layer of ash and soot, darkened by the fire that had consumed much of the building. Harry pushed deeper into the derelict mansion. He was cautious. Ready to act at a moment's notice. Ever so slowly he and the two girls with him crept forward. They were nervous. There was someone prowling in this place with a gun. It didn't sit well with the small group. Wands they were used to. It was part of their routine. Facing a firearm was a different matter. Then there was the crazed spider-slinging elf. That crazed face, the insane toothy smile, it would be the root of many nightmares to them in the following years.

And there was the silence. The utter silence that surrounded them. It was unnerving. The ash under their feet was like a fine powder. It muffled each of their steps. The only sound around them was an ever-present, barely audible noise made by the wind. A low whistle that was coming from all directions. It was like the moan of the dying. It gave all of them the creeps.

The trio reached another room. Harry glanced inside. Hermoine had his back. Over the years he learned to trust the girl with his life. In the room, there was nothing aside from more destruction. Another burnt-out husk. Just like the others before. Piles of charred dust and rubble was all that was left from the furniture. All the destruction was illuminated by the light that was streaming in through a decrepit hole that was once a window.

The group moved on. All the way to the next door, ever vigilant. They did not want to be surprised again. One acromantula bite was enough for the day.

Astoria remained quiet. As much as she hated it, she was forced to stay still. To rely on Hermione and the levitation spell cast by the older girl. It was not to her liking. Not one little bit. She was an active person. Always ready to take the helm. Sitting around and letting others do the work was not her style. Now she had to; forced to do so because of the poison circulating in her body. She felt it. The uncomfortable tingling all was all over her, driving her nuts. The numbness of her muscles was even worse. She knew she wasn't in full control of her body anymore. The numbness, the slight involuntary twitches were even worse. But she fought on. She was not one the type to give up after a small sting. The girl tightened her grip on her wand. One way or another she was determined to see it through to the end.

The small group reached another door. Harry peered inside. He took a step back, shuddering.

"What is it?" asked Hermione. She knew all too well how hard it was to knock him off balance.

Harry remained steeled himself. His face was unreadable. "Skeleton," he responded after a few seconds. The girls froze. Hermione had her answer. She managed to keep from shivering. When they walked past, both females made sure to keep their gaze away from the entrance.

As the students pressed on, deeper into the mansion, the walls around them became more rugged. They were apparently getting closer to what once was the centre of the inferno. The damage done by the fire was getting worse. There were some iron fixtures here and there that had been completely warped by the heat that once reigned over the place. Now they were nothing more than rust eaten mementoes.

The cracks lining the walls were getting bigger. Large chunks of the wall were missing. After a while, it became obvious that the only thing keeping the ruins standing was the magic that had seeped into every stone of the manor. Or at least the remnants of thereof.

The slow but steady pace dictated by Harry's movement was suddenly stopped. Her froze and lifted his hand pointing at and irregularity in front of them. He didn't say a word. The girls glanced at the place he indicated. The girl remained silent. It didn't take long for them to locate the anomaly. It was blindingly obvious. One of the doorways was different. Unlike the rest of the building, it looked untouched. For some strange reason, it was spared and remained seemingly untouched. Its frames were golden. The decoration on it was intricate. Flowers and different patterns were sown all across it. Those patterns were familiar to Astoria. She had seen them before.

It was the very same pattern she had seen on that booby-trapped letter not too long ago. The girl stared at the pillars with goosebumps running up and down on her back. Beforehand it was just a guess. Now she was sure. The letter and this mansion were somehow connected. The only question that was left was how.

"I think we stumbled across something!" remarked Hermione quietly as she and Harry approached the anomaly. The third years exchanged a look. They were suspicious, but at the same time, they also knew this is their best possible way out of this hellhole.

"We usually do this at the end of the year," remarked Harry casting a series of detection spells at the gateway.

"It was starting to get dull. Admit it!" responded the bushy girl with a smile. The spells came out negative. The doorway was clean.

"I could do without having to face off against a basilisk another time." countered Harry.

"You and me too!" responded Hermione. "So what if it is a trap?" she asked.

"We do the usual! We go in and ride it out!" answered the boy.

"Sounds about right!" responded Hermione.

Astoria could only stare at her two companions as they slowly delved deeper into what she assumed was some sort of gallows humour. The statements they made was clear that they weren't strangers to danger. The remark about the basilisk had really hit home. It also gave her some semblance of comfort. She was with two who had been in similar situations. Together they will make it.

* * *

Daphne was seething. Each step she took was wobbly. Her legs were threatening to give in, but through sheer willpower she kept herself going. She wanted to find that dammed elf and finish the job, which by the creature's looks had been started years ago. That accursed thing had made a mockery of her. Subjected her to some variant of the Cruciatus curse. Taunted her. Everything that little bastard did! It was an insult that couldn't be left standing.

She slipped another bullet into the magazine. Her action was accompanied by a soft click as the ordinance slipped into its place. She was happy that she adopted the habit of carrying around large amounts of spare ammo. The Weasley boy was too generous about dispersing her weapon's ordinance. He ran out of rounds far too quickly and without doing any damage beyond messing up the already devastated ballroom even more.

The girl was not really mad at the boy. He was a wizard, not a marksman. Also, the little menace bounced around the place like a ping-pong ball high on crack. She was a good shot, but even she would have had trouble hitting that dammed thing. In top shape. In her current state, she had no chance. This meant she was forced to relinquish her weapon. To give it to a complete untrained novice.

The magazine let out another click as she fed it another 9mm charge. The girl fought to keep from lashing out at something. Anything, around her. Despite her best efforts the humiliation she had been subjected to by that elf came back to her. The annoying laughter, having her leg magically pulled from underneath her, even the pain of landing face-first on the floor was something she could deal with. She would have carried on with no fuss. Having her skirt flipped. That was a different matter. Then came the soon to be dead elf's remark of "Black, lace!" That had made if personal. Daphne wanted that accursed thing dead!

Even more importantly she had to find that accursed thing before it got to Astoria. Should she fail… Daphne didn't even dare to think about it. There was no way she would be able to look her father in the eyes once she crosses that threshold of life should she fail. Neither would she be able to gaze into a mirror without flinching ever again. She knew she was making that particular weakness too obvious, but at this moment she couldn't care less. Her sister was in trouble and anyone who got in her way would feel her wrath.

Another click, another bullet was in position. The fifteenth. The magazine was finally full. "May I?" she spoke addressing the boy on her side. She was leaning onto him just to be able to walk. Daphne detested that she was forced to use him as a makeshift crutch. Without Ron's help, she would be barely able to take a step. She hated the feeling. She was a Greengrass! The thugs of the magical world trembled at the mention of her name. Now she had to rely on this idiot just to get around the place.

"Here! You might as well keep it!" responded Ron handing the gun over. "I don't even know how muggles are able to make that stupid thing work."

Daphne didn't answer. She was afraid she might become more than verbal. The boy didn't do anything to deserve it. By all accounts, he could have left her for dead and made an attempt on his own to get out. By all accounts, the two of them were stuck together in this. Her especially. She was forced to rely on the Gryffindor boy to find Astoria. The girl grabbed her weapon and with some difficulty slid the magazine into its slot. She grabbed the slide and pulled it roughly back, chambering the first round. When she released the top it snapped back into position with an audible click signalling that the weapon was ready to go.

After a few seconds of thought, the girl tried aiming. She tried to concentrate, to keep her arm still and straight, it was no use. Despite her best effort, it was hopeless. Her arm was shaking. Twitching all around the place. Her grip wasn't strong enough. The recoil would most definitely rip the weapon from her grasp. Hitting anything was completely down to luck. It was something she didn't want to count on.

After making sure that the gun was in a working order Daphne handed it back to the boy, silently. She did not like it, but it was better to have it in a steady hand even if it was an untrained one.

"You sure about this?" asked Ron eyeing the beretta. He wasn't into muggle things like his father. As far he understood the muggles were worse off on every possible way when compared to magicals. This contraption was just another proof to him. A wand was a versatile tool that can be used again and again. This thing was only good for a single thing. What was, as far he could understand, slinging a small metal pellet at a high velocity at your opponent. Even that had a hard cap to it before the tool had to be recharged. His conclusion came down to one thought: "Muggles are weird!"

"No!" answered Daphne angrily. She was not one bit happy about her decision. As far as she was concerned she literally handed a loaded gun to a child. The fact that she wasn't even a whole month older and by law shouldn't be able to carry one was of secondary importance to her.

She slowly but surely stumbled across the empty hallway. Ron was there supporting her all the way. All he could do was to tag along with the girl and try to keep her out of as much trouble she gets him into. Or at least try. He was sure of one thing. This place was everything but secure. First a swarm of acromantula and now a crazed house elf. Walls, which by the looks of them could barely stand. He had to admit that the girl had the right idea. They had to get to the bottom of things and get back to Hogwarts. She needed medical attention and he needed to find a quiet place where he could faint. Why he didn't collapse when facing that illusion was something beyond him.

The two pressed on without finding much. Destruction, decay, and the occasional bit that was left of the residents. They didn't care much about that. Daphne accepted it with an icy demeanour. Ron was beyond getting creeped out. He already had his dose for the day.

They kept moving. Slowly but surely. It was a simple forward path. Easy to follow. In Ron's opinion too easy. In a sense it was strange. The path that they were taking was too obvious. A mansion of this size should be a maze. A place where any visitor would always be in the danger of getting lost. But not here. Each time they came to a conjunction the path forward was clear. Any other path would be blocked one way or another. A collapsed floor or a huge pile of refuse. It was too easy. It was as if they were getting lead down a certain path. He did not like that thought at all. It was something he had often done himself during his chess games. The only difference was that this time he was one of those getting led down a path. And the stakes were their lives. Not something he would ever risk gambling.

Then they came across something strange. A pristine entrance. The frames of it were completely unaffected by whatever took place in the house. It looked like brand new. The decoration was pretty much on the expensive side of things. The thing was almost screaming 'trap' at him. When he glanced at Daphne she was looking at him. The way she looked at him made it clear that she was thinking the very same thing. Something was not right. However, what other choice did they have but following the path set out for them?

* * *

Harry was nervous as he was about to enter the strange room what they guessed was a library of some sort. He and Hermione subjected the entrance to security spell they could think of and then some. All came out clean. There was no deadly trap, not illusion nothing. The only thing they found were the remnants of a powerful ward. One no longer active. As far they could guess it was that ward that saved the room from being consumed by the firestorm that had raged outside.

It looked like it was safe to enter. That didn't mean Harry was any more relaxed. He knew that a good trap was the one you don't notice until it is too late. The only problem was that the place was their best bet at getting home. It was also looked suspicious. Harry knew they all knew that the place was a trap in some way. It had to be! But the possible rewards made the risk worth it. This room was their best bet at finding a way back to school. They had to take the risk.

The boy took a deep breath and stepped forward. He waited for the telltale surge of magic ready to make a fight of whatever was in store for a trespasser. There was none. He took a few tentative steps into the room. Any attack was yet to come. His eyes scanned the interior. The place was huge. It easily took up two floors. There were entire apartments that were much smaller than this single room. The shelves reached up to the ceiling all of them full of books and tomes. Rows upon rows of them.

The only part the wasn't filled with books was a small area set aside for studies. An old sofa a desk and a chair. They all seemed to had been subjected to heavy use. He also noticed something else. Something that was very out of place. A bed. A human-sized one. It was well kept and neat, although the wear and tear and the age of the furniture was all too apparent. There were no windows, the only form of light seemed to come from some form of magical source on the ceiling.

The bed was also a good sign that the ruins were home to someone else other than the crazed elf. Someone human. Hermione was filled with mixed feelings about the place. On one end there were all the books. All the stored knowledge stored away. This was what they were looking for a way to get back to Hogwarts. At the same time, she was well aware of the danger. The elf wasn't alone. Now it was certain. There was a human occupant to this place. The way the elf had greeted them made it clear that the residents were not too fond of visitors.

Harry was thinking along the same line as Hermione. This library looked a promising place. The problem was that he had no real idea if it was THE place they were looking for. There was a high chance that it could be only some sort of decoy. An illusion or just part of an elaborate ruse. "Any suggestions?" he asked. Curious about the input the girls could give him. "We don't really have time to read books, but I doubt we'll stumble into anything better than this."

Hermione nodded agreeing with Harry's sentiment to the fullest. "Let's check everything. I know it could take time, but this room is our best bet at getting out of here."

Astoria remained silent. She tried to answer, but despite her attempts, the best she could manage was to open and close her mouth. Control over her tongue was something that had been beyond her. Most of her face was numb. All she could feel was an annoying tingling feeling. It was spreading fast. She kept putting on a brave face, but as time was passing the girl was starting to fear for her life.

While the young girl was fighting to keep control over her own body the other two had come to an agreement. Staying in the library was deemed dangerous. But at the same time, it was their best shot out of their situation. After a quick sweep, they would subject the room to a more thorough investigation. Even with the possible dangers, this room was the best they had.

Harry and Hermione went to work. The brunette witch released her spell making sure that Astoria would settle on a comfortable looking chair. As easy at the levitation spell was she could do her search quicker and would be more thorough, if she didn't have to worry about maintaining the magical energies needed to keep the younger girl in the air. It was also the first time they found a decent spot within the manor that wasn't filled to the brim with soot and filth.

Once Astoria was settled safely the third-years went to work. They were systematic. Going over everything with a fine-toothed comb. Everything that even had the vaguest hint, at being useful was delivered to the desk right in front of the first-year. Slowly but surely a small pile of promising looking things was starting to form. A tome on creating portkeys, some hastily scribbled notes that were titled Apparation, and an official-looking paper that looked like a contract about a fireplace which was connected to the floo network. The questions connected to it were: Where is it? Is it still usable?

Astoria couldn't do much to help in the search. In her state, she would probably be more of a hindrance than a help. There was one thing she could do. What was to take a closer look at the leads her compatriots gathered. Originally the girl wanted to start with the tome but that proved to be too heavy. Astoria was appaled how far she had deteriorated. Usually, she wouldn't have had any problem with lifting it, but now it was a struggle to even move the thick book. After a short struggle, she accepted that she won't get much of the codex today.

She moved on to the papers dealing with Apparation. They were simple notes describing how the transportation worked. As far as she could guess the papers were written by someone who was trying to master this form of travel. They were neat, well ordered and informative. The wizard working with them was probably one of the better ones. The handwriting looked somehow familiar to her. Her gut screaming at her telling the girl to leg it and not look back. She was sure she had seen them some place before. The girl shook her head and continued her research.

After leafing through the papers she placed them to the side with a frown. While using apparation to get back to Hogwarts looked promising they did not have time to learn a completely new form of travel. She also didn't want to risk leaving her limbs all over the country in the case of an accident. Thus, with a heavy sigh, she moved on to the next one. A slim book in a brown binding. She tried to continue her search, but her gaze always returned to those apparation notes. She knew she had seen writing like that before. To her, it was like the proverbial itch. Astoria grabbed the papers once again and inspected the scripture. It was then that the realization finally hit her. The girl shuddered.

When the girl looked up to calm herself something else caught her attention. Above the desk, attached to the wall, there was a piece of paper what appeared to be a cut-out from some old newspaper. By the moving picture, she guessed from some magical paper. She knew the person on that picture. It was her mother, trying to act like her usual regal self. Only this time she seemed to have failed at that. Miserably. She was hunched forward. Clear blue eyes were full of sorrow. Her make up a mess. Astoria also noticed a younger version of herself and Daphne on that picture. Everything came together when she saw the coffin. It was a picture from the Daily Prophet that was taken years ago. The title read: 'Suceccfull Businessman Killed by Werewolf'. The article was about her father's funeral. It was the last time her mother had ever cried.

Hermione dropped off a smallish book titled 'The Wards of Hogwarts' before disappearing again. Astoria never took account of any of that. Her eyes were focused on the note underneath the old newspaper snippet. She was stiff with both anger and fear. The words on it were clear and simple.

'Got you bastard!'

It was the same script she had seen on the Apparation note too. This realization was enough to bring the girl back to her present reality. The situation was worse than she could have thought. Everything that had happened till this point was planned. She was not here by some accident. Everything was just one big trap.

The girl stumbled to her feet. She had to warn the others. They had to get away from the building. Her vision blurred as she struggled to her feet. She almost fell back into the chair. She had to fight for each step she took. It was a gruelling experience for her. Her only saving grace was the aged shelf on her right. She could lean against it for some much-needed support. Without it, she would have been forced to crawl. She tried to call out to the others, but she wasn't able to voice anything save for some croaking sounds.

Then she heard a gunshot rip into the silence of the ruins. It was close by. Too close. The crackle reflected back from the walls, amplifying the noise within, making it unbearable. She heard her companions call out the names of different spells. It was followed up by snapping and popping sounds as those spells slammed into walls and other solid objects.

Then she heard Hermione's voice. Her shout of "Death Eaters!" sent chills down the spine of the young girl.

* * *

Ron reached with Daphne in tow. The boy didn't dare to mention it, but she was getting heavier. At first, he didn't notice, but after a while, it started to get all too apparent. The foreboding girl was fighting on, but her body was starting to weaken. Her breath was getting more and more laboured. He knew they had to get a healer immediately if not sooner.

When they reached to entrance Ron froze as did the girl on his side. The room they stumbled across was a library. And most surprisingly it was intact. They were horrified to find that they were in deeper trouble than they could have thought. The two knew they weren't alone, but they never would have thought that they'd have such a company. Inside they saw two masked figures. Their sinister features didn't promise much. They seemed to be busy. Searching for something. Ron recognised the masks they wore. He had seen things like those. During breakfast. In the Daily Prophet, the paper his father always read while eating his meal. The two were Death Eaters.

The two youths dove for cover. The fright gave Daphne a surge of power she thought she no longer had. The two teens gazed at each other. A silent communication commenced between them. There were no words exchanged. Ron gestured at the entrance next to him. Then at the gun in his hand.

The question was clear to the girl. He wanted to attack. In a sense, she agreed with the boy. They had surprise on their side for a change. However, they did not know if there were others. Or how many of them were there in the first place. They could be stirring up a hornet's nest. Then there was another problem. Those two could be illusions too meant to keep them out of the room. Or just the trigger to another trap.

Daphne did not like the odds. But with her condition gradually getting worse. They, she was running out of options. She needed medical care. Sitting around was just as bad if not worse than lashing out. After a long consideration, she nodded to signal her agreement. She pulled out her wand and prepared herself to fight as much as she was able to. Her state was bad. The girl had to actually use her left hand to guide her fingers into the right position. She could only hope the wand would not slip from her fingers.

Ron lifted his hand holding up three fingers. Daphne nodded once more. This time to signal her readiness. Both took a deep breath. They were filled with more fear than ever before. They were about to attack human beings. This was not some game or childish brawl. This was a fight to the death. They could only hope that the two were only illusions. And even if they were, it would only lead them to other problems.

The boy was about to start his countdown when they heard hurried rustling from the inside. "Someone's out there!" came the hushed whisper from inside. The voice was low barely audible. The countdown was forgotten as both surged forward. Ron aimed and fired. The Death Eaters inside seemed to understand the nature of the weapon in his hand and dove for cover. He fired anyway. He did not want to waste his chance. The Death Eaters were fast. They moved into before Ron or Daphne could catch them.

The masked figures inside returned fire. Both cried out the name of a stupefy spell. The teens took cover when they saw the green bolts of magic. The students were appaled, their opponents somehow managed to masquerade the killing curse as a harmless stunner.

"Death Eaters!" called out one of the two. By the voice, Ron judged a woman in her thirties.

Daphne did not like what this declaration implied. The two Death Eaters were not alone. And they just called for help. This had to be finished and quickly. If she and Ron couldn't they would be surely overrun and that would be it for them. The girl steeled herself and summoned all her strength. They had to win. She had to find her little sister.

* * *

Astoria heard more gunshots as she stumbled towards the source of the disturbance. She knew she was not worth much in her current state. Casting any spells, even the simplest ones were beyond her in her current state. But the attackers didn't have to know that. All the first-year could hope for was that her mere presence is enough to throw the attackers off balance. There was no use hiding. No use hesitating. She had to act. If her friends fall she was as good as dead in this place.

Another crack filled the air. The ominous sound of the shot bounced around between the walls of the library creating an almost unbearable racket. Astoria stumbled, almost fell. Once more it was only the bookshelf that saved her from a nasty fall. She wanted to curse. Her body simply refused to do as asked. "Why is that dammed fight so far away?" she cursed in silent desperation.

Two more crackles came and went. The girl's ears were left ringing. Some books at the end of the row in front of her fell from their place. Parts of their interior was flung around, transformed into confetti. Astoria saw Harry rush past. Probably in a search for a place from which to fight back. It was the right thing to do considering what his opponent was using. He dodged several spells on the way and even slapped one to the side. He also seemed to be favouring his right leg.

The girl kept going. She had to get there. Then she saw Daphne of all people rush by. Astoria stopped staring for a few seconds. She shook her head trying to clear her mind of the obvious hallucination. There was no way her sister was in this place. It had to be the poison. More spells whizzed passed at the end of the corridor she was on. This time in the opposite direction.

Astoria pressed on, fighting against her immense need to collapse on the ground and just give up. When she reached the end of the shelf she peeked out. It was only for a fraction of a second. But it was enough to confirm her fears. There was a man wearing a black cloak not far from the door. In his left, he was wielding a gun. The girl retreated to safety. She could only hope she wasn't spotted. From behind she felt the sounds of a scuffle. She guessed Harry and Daphne were in a hand to hand fight against someone. Astoria stopped. Once more she shook her head. There was no way Daphne was there.

The first-year risked another peek. Her face went white. She saw Hermione, who was making a break for it. By the looks, the girl tried to get behind the man and failed at the attempt. Now he had her in the open, without cover. The witch was scrambling to get out of the line of fire. She was running for her life. It was clear she would not make it. The man pulled the trigger and the mechanism within the weapon did its job. The gun let out another bark sending its lethal projectile at the girl before she could reach relative safety. Luckily for her, his aim was off and ended up only grazing her arm. She yelped in pain and dropped her wand as she tried to get away.

Astoria had a split second to react. She knew how easy it was for someone to make a correction and fire again. The next bullet would definitely hit dead centre. There was no time to hesitate. Almost on instinct the girl grabbed the nearest thing she could think of and flung it at the black-clad attacker. The book hit the man in the chest just as he lined up the second shot. The gun barked again, but distraction proved to be enough. The bullet meant for Hermione missed its mark and bit into the tomes next to the older witch. The literature on the shelves was a loss but the projectile didn't make it through. Hermione kept moving and dove for cover. For a split second Astoria relaxed. She had saved the hide of her friend.

Then the Slytherin girl's relief turned to horror when she saw the man turn towards her. The mask he wore was the most frightening thing she had seen in a long time. She had heard about the people who wore masks like that. She remembered their collective name. Death Eaters, they called themselves. That mask made her shiver. She knew she had to run. Those people were not known for taking prisoners. As the man turned towards her he was also bringing his weapon along. A spell was flung at her. It was only then that she noticed the wand in his right arm. She did not hear the incantation but she felt its effects of the spell that was flung at her. All control the girl had left of her legs was lost. Her face went horrid then she saw the gun getting trained in on her.

The girl was desperate. She knew running was impossible. However, going down without a fight was just not her style. Astoria knew she had not much of a chance but she had to try. She could glance deep into the barrel when she flung the book at her assailant. It was clear it won't get there in time, but at least she could hope to do some damage.

The man's hand squeezed the trigger. The girl closed her eyes. But instead of a crackle, there was a fizz like sound and a yelp. It was followed up by clatter and a heavy thud. Two thuds! When Astoria opened her eyes to investigate. She saw Harry and Daphne wrestling with the Death Eater, doing their best to keep him down. The adult was slowly but surely gaining the upper hand. Harry was leaking blood all over the place and Daphne didn't seem to fight with her usual ferocity.

To Astoria, her older sister looked sluggish and awkward. Suddenly Daphne exploded with a primordial rage. "Are you crazy Weasley! That's my little sister you were trying to shoot! Can't you idiot differentiate between a dammed Death Eater and a first-year?" The ungodly holler brought the fight to a sudden halt. Harry stiffened. The Death Eater stared.

Astoria also knew that name. It was the name of Harry's friend. The annoying one. From school. Things didn't add up one bit to her. Then it all started up again.

"Now you show your true colours you filthy snake! You were working for You-Know-Who all the time!" yelled the Death Eater back. A strange thing to hear from anybody wearing those clothes. "You Slytherins are all the same! Dirty! Backstabbing cowards all of you!"

The scuffle on the ground continued. The Death Eater seemed to be getting the upper hand. Daphne's usual elegance was nowhere to be found. Her movements were sloppy. Inaccurate. Almost as is she was drunk. Harry, however, didn't move. He stared at the masked attacker. "Ron?" he asked completely astonished. "What the hell are you doing in a dark wizard getup?" he asked.

The man's struggles ceased once more. "Harry?" he asked also stiff with realization. "What the bloody hell? You are the one who is dressed up in a Voldemort-fanboy-costume!?" The voices and looks were completely off, but the mannerisms and words were all too familiar to the other.

"What costume?" asked Harry. "I'm wearing my usual Hogwarts clothes."

"Well, to me you look like some dark-lord-bootlicker!" answered Ron angrily.

Harry and the man untangled from each other and stood up. But the hostility was still there. They were keeping their distance and observed each other's movements with care. They faced each other at a safe distance with inquisitive glances. At the same time, Hermione was trying to gather her jaw from the floor. She had made a hasty attempt to reclaim her wand. Now she stood there. Mouth agape. Frozen from the new information that was delivered to her. The female or at least the person who looked just like a Death Eater to her was clearly Daphne. The voice may have been off, but the tone, the attitude and the statement was a dead giveaway.

The man's identity was also too clear. He may have looked like one of Voldermort's cohorts, but the vocabulary made his identity all too apparent. It was Ron. And he had shot her! The wound may have been superficial, but it HURT! She couldn't begin to imagine how Harry felt after taking two bullets.

"So what in the bloody name of hell is going on?" asked Ron starting to get annoyed with the situation.

It was Hermione's cue to collapse. "It means we got played," she answered. "Someone wanted us to fight each other."

"And who are you supposed to be?" barked Ron at her.

"I'm Hermione!" answered the girl. She didn't know if she should be angry or relieved.

The two sides slowly but lined up in their respective camps. They were still wary of each other, but their fight was over. It was all too apparent that they were fooled by some illusion. Only the sisters saw the other side for who they were.

Daphne was leaning against the wall still trying to refrain from strangling Ron. She eyed her sister and the two fake Death Eaters on each side of her. The younger girl was relying on the male Death Eater, Potter she guessed, for support. Astoria looked groggy and tired. She also didn't speak. It was something completely uncharacteristic of her younger sister. The tear on the first year's robes and droplets of blood on it. The stained fabric was enough for Daphne to figure things out. "Acromantula bite?" she asked already knowing the answer.

Harry nodded.

The older Greengrass masked her inner need to inflict large amounts of pain under a cool, collected face.

"Dammed, crazy house-elf!" added Hermione under her breath.

"You two?" asked Ron.

The room became silent. Everybody knew what they were looking for. The key to getting home. That house elf. They had to find it and grill it for information. At this point, Ron saw red. "Get out here you bastard!" he yelled atop of his lungs making the other's stare at him. "Come here you half-eared pest!" The echoes of his angry scream could be heard all across the ruins. There was no answer.

"Are you crazy!" hissed Hermione. "Why don't you tell him our exact search plan while you are at it. How are we supposed to find it if it doesn't want us to find it?"

Ron didn't respond to the girl. He kept yelling. "Hiding aren't you! You little coward! No problem sooner or later we will get out of here! This place has to exist somewhere else! I'll find it and burn down the rest! What do you say to that? Won't it be fun?"

There was no response. Ron aimed his wand at one of the shelves and fired a spell at it. The literature caught fire instantly. Hermione paled at the sight of the burning tomes. The fire spread at an alarming rate. It was like a pack of hungry rabbits, ready to devour anything in its wake. "So what is it? Aren't you going to stop me? I'll burn down the entire library and tear down the rest of this place while I'm at it!"

Barely did Ron finish those words there was a loud pop in the room. The flames were snuffed out quickly by some spell. Almost at the same time, Ron fell to the ground letting out a groan. It was that Cruciatus curse again. His face was contorted into a painful grimace. Strangely, that grimace was accompanied by a smirk, which only grew after the others let loose with everything the had.

The distorted elf didn't give in without a fight. It bounced all around the library dodging spell after spell. Astoria didn't sit by idly. Even without the ability to cast spells, she did her best. Every object around her became a potential weapon to be flung at the thing. The air was filled with spells once more. The multiple impacts left many small craters and scorch-marks in their wake. Bringing further destruction to what was left.

Hermione didn't care about her bleeding wound and the pain. Daphne kept flinging spells while she gathered her beretta. There were still a few rounds left in it. They all had the elf's name on them. Whatever it was. Her hand was shaking dangerously, but she didn't care any more. The way the creature was bouncing around made aiming almost an impossibility. She almost slapped herself when the idea of a sticking charm came to her mind. The incantations of various spells were soon muffled by gunfire. Harry too blasted away furiously. His newly learned 'stupefy' spell was put to good use.

Thanks to the relatively confined space and the barrage put up against it the house-elf couldn't last long. One of Harry's spells finally got close enough. As it slammed against the wall, missing its mark, but the blast created by it did reach the elf. While the magic contained in the spell was mostly dissipated the elf was slowed by it. That was all the students needed.

A spell hit home. Then two. The thing was actually shaking off the magic in them. Hermione's trip jinx was a direct hit and sent the elf to the ground. The barrage that followed was enough to bring down a newborn dragon. All of it was aimed at disabling the elf. After ten or twenty impacts the room went silent. The horrid creature had stopped. The library was a disaster. Pieces of parchment and paper were everywhere. The air was filled by the distinct scent of burnt wood. One of the tomes was smouldering silently letting out a small amount of smoke. Another was blown to confetti. A candleholder, thrown by Astoria, bounced off the creature's head and came to a halt with a clatter.

"We got it!" declared Ron standing up. He was smirking. His plan had worked. Despite the after-effects of the Cruciatus spell lingering in his body, he was happy, satisfied with the result.

Strangely the elf was still smirking at the students. It was the same, crazed smirk as before. It chuckled. "So, you managed to catch me," it spoke in an uncomfortable raspy voice. "You are still stuck here!"

Harry approached the elf. He was careful. His eyes were searching for surprises. He was not taking any chances. "Why are you doing this?" he asked. "What did we do to you?" The elf grinned. It didn't answer. Instead, it turned its gaze to the sisters. The creature smirked once more as it raised its hand.

The next moment a bluish bolt of magic flashed by barely missing Harry, barely. The spell hit the elf's hand knocking it to the side. The impact was accompanied by a loud crackle. The elf tried to raise its hand again but the way the limb was bent made it clear it was of no use to its owner anymore. Strangely the elf didn't seem to have much care about having its arm break.

Everybody turned to the source of the spell. They were awaiting another fight. Another opponent. Everybody gasped when they saw the source. it was Hermione. "Don't even try!" She warned. "We never did anything to you! We don't want to! We only want to go home! How can we do that!? Tell us!" by the time the girl reached the end she was screaming.

The house-elf laughed. It was a surprise to all. Most sentient beings would be howling in pain. But this thing was laughing as if it was the best joke it ever heard.

"You want to go home?" it asked between fits. "You want to find a way out of this spell? You have to destroy the power-source!"

"What is it? What do we have to destroy to get out of here?" Demanded Hermione.

The elf laughed even louder. The students shuddered. Despite her anger, even Hermione couldn't help it. She felt pitied the elf. After meeting Dobby she knew how strong those creatures were. For one to become like this... She couldn't imagine what it had to go through. However, enough was enough. She wanted out of this horror house.

The elf chuckled. "You want to go home that bad?" it asked. "Okay, I'll tell you about the magical core. I know everything about it. I know the core very well. I know all about it. The core is me!" answered the elf with glee. "You will have to kill me!" it repeated. Hermione paled. The others stared in horror as the words slowly but surely sunk in.

Everybody was in denial. Thinking that this was just another sick joke. All save for one.

Daphne was silent. Her face was grim as she stepped forward. She lifted her arm gripping her beretta tightly as possible. She had had enough. Her hand was shaking. Her aim was off. Standing alone was a challenge to her. As good as she was able the girl aimed at the elf the fired. The recoil knocked her hand back. Without the sticking charm, the beretta would have left her grip. The bullet missed completely. She aimed again and fired another time. She did her best to hit her target, but again she missed.

The third attempt was a hit. The elf stared at her with an empty, satisfied expression. The elf didn't even wince it just stared at her with an empty expression. The next shot was also a hit. The elf was smirking. The fifth bullet tore into its chest. The sixth round found the elf's head. At this, the creature started to laugh. Daphne ejected the magazine. With some difficulty, she pulled out a spare and reloaded her weapon. The empty container landed on the ground letting out a metallic clink. The others with her stared. Frozen in place by the shock and surprise as the girl resumed firing. At the fifth shot of her second magazine, the elf went silent. The girl kept on firing till the hammer of her gun found an empty chamber.

Everything became quiet. Too quiet. Hermione lifted a hand in protest, but she never spoke. The world around the small group suddenly lit up. Nobody cheered. They were unable to. The light was rapidly gaining intensity as the world around them started to contort and distort. It was getting brighter and brighter. Astoria and Harry glanced at each other. The girl looked scared and hopeful at the same time. She took a tentative step towards the boy. Harry didn't know what to make of the situation. He desperately wanted to reassure her that everything was going to be all right. After a few seconds, he decided to act on those feelings. The little girl now looked terribly frightened. He took the first step, but he never got there. The boy was forced to close his eyes. He felt weightless and heavy at the same time. It didn't take long before he felt completely disorientated. His felt his body spin, he was also falling, All of it was starting to make the boy sick. Then all of it stopped.

Harry suddenly felt the hospital bed under his back. When he opened his eyes to check he found himself in the infirmary of Hogwarts. On his left, he found Astoria she was trying to clear her head. Hermione was on the right. They weren't alone. The boy found Dumbledore sitting on the bed right in front of him. Apparently the old wizard was in the middle of consoling a crying Madame Pomfrey. The deputy headmaster, McGonagall, was standing next to him along with a clearly annoyed Snape.

The healer's sobbing came to a halt as she and the professors stared at the children who seemingly appeared out of nowhere. The doors of the infirmary slammed open as Ron barged in. "I need help!" he yelled. "Acromantula bite!"


End file.
